Gansu Issues Fine for Selling Vapes to Minors

On July 7, the Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau issued a fine for selling e-cigarettes to minors. On the afternoon of July 2 at 7:30 PM, based on gathered information, the Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, in conjunction with the District Market Supervision Administration, uncovered a case of illegal sale of e-cigarettes to minors at a night market stall located at 108 Dunhuang Road in Qilihe District. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors," the business was fined 500 yuan and had illegal gains of 5 yuan confiscated.

Wang Peng, deputy director of the Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, stated that currently, some middle and primary school students and minors are consuming e-cigarettes out of curiosity or a desire for novelty. Due to the underdevelopment of minors' bodies, using e-cigarettes can cause serious harm to their physical and mental health.

It was reported that the newly revised "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors," effective June 1 of this year, includes provisions to protect minors from tobacco harm, ensuring their physical health and legal rights. Following the directives from the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the National Market Supervision Administration, as well as arrangements from provincial and municipal tobacco monopoly and market supervision authorities, the Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, in collaboration with the District People's Procuratorate's Juvenile Work Department and the District Market Supervision Administration, actively implemented regulatory responsibilities. They conducted investigations, registrations, and established files for e-cigarette vendors in the area, and jointly launched a concentrated publicity campaign themed "Keeping Youth Away from Traditional Tobacco Products and E-cigarettes—Protecting a Smoke-Free Youth and Caring for the Future of Our Country." The Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau issued the first fine in the province for selling e-cigarettes to minors, marking the first step in the province's efforts to protect a "Smoke-Free Youth."

The Qilihe District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau will take the newly revised "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors" as an opportunity to continuously strengthen publicity efforts, enhance supervision and inspection, and strictly fulfill their responsibilities to safeguard the healthy growth of minors. At the same time, they call on all sectors of society to actively supervise and report illegal activities related to selling cigarettes and e-cigarettes to minors, working together to protect the healthy growth of minors.