Tighter Vape Regulation: Over 1,800 Related Firms Closed or Deregistered

July 14, according to the official website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, in order to further protect minors from the harms of e-cigarettes, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation formulated the "Special Inspection Action Plan for the E-cigarette Market." It proposes using stricter regulatory measures and tougher enforcement methods through special inspections to comprehensively clean up online e-cigarette sales, fully strengthen supervision over internet platforms, and effectively protect the physical and mental health of minors.

According to professional data from Tianyancha, there are currently more than 13,000 companies in China whose enterprise name, business scope, or brand name includes “e-cigarette” or “electronic atomizer” and whose status is active, existing, relocated in, or relocated out (hereinafter referred to as “e-cigarette-related companies”).

By regional distribution, Guangdong Province has the largest number of e-cigarette-related companies, with more than 7,300, accounting for about 54% of the national total. Jiangsu and Zhejiang rank second and third, with around 1,000 related companies each. In addition, according to incomplete statistics from Tianyancha, more than 50 e-cigarette-related companies in China have received financing.

It is worth noting that Tianyancha's professional risk data shows that among China’s e-cigarette-related companies, 268 have been subject to administrative penalties, and 33 have committed serious violations. In 2019, the number of enforcement actions involving e-cigarette-related companies reached 705, the highest on record.

At the 2019 CCTV 3·15 Gala, the program exposed the “hazards of e-cigarettes,” stating that eight randomly purchased e-cigarette e-liquids were sent to a laboratory for testing, where staff found that some had excessive nicotine content. The CCTV host said that scientific experiments proved e-cigarettes contain many harmful substances and are no less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

On October 30 of the same year, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from E-cigarettes," which took effect on the date of publication.

As of July 15, based on business registration records, Tianyancha data shows that more than 1,800 e-cigarette-related companies in China have been deregistered or had their licenses revoked. Of these, 809 were deregistered or revoked after March 15, 2019, accounting for about 44% of all such “defunct” companies.