E-cigarette Rules Enter Law for the First Time, Stronger Youth Protection

On July 20, the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control held an online seminar on the second draft of the "Minor Protection Law (Revised Draft)" (hereinafter referred to as the "second draft"), exchanging opinions with experts from the tobacco control, legal, and minor protection fields regarding the tobacco control clauses in the second draft. Many experts believe that the second draft has made significant progress in tobacco control, with the highlight being the first-time inclusion of "prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors" in the law.

Prohibition of Selling E-Cigarettes to Minors Included in Law for the First Time

On June 30, the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress reviewed the second draft in groups. After the review, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced it and publicly solicited opinions from July 3 to August 16.

According to the 2019 tobacco survey results released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 69.9% of middle school students had heard of e-cigarettes, and the usage rate was 2.7%, which increased by 24.9 and 1.5 percentage points compared to 2014, indicating a significant upward trend in e-cigarette usage among adolescents in China.

Caring for the health of adolescents must start with reducing youth smoking, which is critically important for overall tobacco control efforts. Whether the revised Minor Protection Law can include items that may pose significant harm to the physical and mental health of minors has been a focus of attention. The current "Minor Protection Law" and the first draft both contain corresponding clauses prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors. However, the second draft explicitly prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors for the first time in legal form, which experts in tobacco control consider to be the biggest highlight of the second draft. "During the in-depth health education in schools, we also found that many students still believe that e-cigarettes are not tobacco or are less harmful," said Guo Xin, deputy director of the Youth Professional Committee of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control.

Tong Lihua, director of the Beijing Youth Legal Aid Center, pointed out that the tobacco control provisions in the second draft represent a significant step forward in protecting all minors in China from tobacco harm. Compared to the current law and the first draft, the second draft has made substantial modifications to protect minors from tobacco harm. For instance, when the concept of "tobacco" first appeared in the draft, it was clearly defined to include e-cigarettes.

Sun Jianing, a technical officer for tobacco control at the WHO China Office, pointed out that e-cigarettes are unsafe for children and adolescents, severely harming the physical and mental health of minors, damaging lung function, and the nicotine in e-cigarettes can lead to addiction and have long-term effects on developing brains. E-cigarettes may also create a new social atmosphere, fostering smoking habits among adolescents. Evidence shows that adolescents who have never smoked are twice as likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes if they use e-cigarettes. This phenomenon has been confirmed in several countries, including the United States, thus strict regulation of e-cigarettes is necessary to prevent minors from trying them."

In addition, another major highlight of the tobacco control clauses in the second draft is the "comprehensive indoor and outdoor smoking ban in all kindergartens, schools, and places where minors gather" established in national law. Compared to the relevant provisions in the current "Minor Protection Law" and the first draft, the progress in the second draft is reflected in the expansion of the smoking ban from indoor areas to comprehensive indoor and outdoor smoking bans in kindergartens, schools, and places where minors gather, which will protect all minors in China from the harms of secondhand smoke.

"Prohibition of Setting Up Tobacco Shops Around Schools" Included in the Minor Protection Law for the First Time

For the first time, the second draft explicitly states that no tobacco (including e-cigarettes) sales points may be set up around schools. The intention behind prohibiting the establishment of tobacco shops around campuses is to protect all minors nationwide from tobacco marketing activities and to avoid exposure to tobacco products, which is currently only clearly regulated in the tobacco control regulations of a few cities like Beijing and Shenzhen.

Experts at the meeting pointed out that setting up sales points around schools is essentially a form of tobacco marketing targeting minors, directly exposing young people to tobacco products and advertisements, thereby attracting them to become the next generation of consumers to maintain tobacco sales. The "2019 Tobacco Advertising Survey Report on Cigarette Sales Terminals in Eight Cities" released by the New Exploration Health Development Research Center shows that over 80% of primary and secondary schools surveyed have tobacco sales stores within 100 meters of their vicinity.

However, the second draft does not clearly define the concept of "around schools," which may lead to difficulties in law enforcement in the future. Many experts have suggested that, considering the operability of actual law enforcement, it is advisable to further clarify the definition of the "surrounding area of schools." Professor Wang Qingbin from China University of Political Science and Law suggested that no tobacco sales points should be set up within at least 100 meters of school surroundings, while also encouraging localities to make stricter regulations. Meanwhile, Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the New Exploration Health Research Center, suggested extending the "surrounding area of schools" to 200 meters and requiring teachers not to smoke during school hours, as well as prohibiting the online sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

"I hope that after the revision of the Minor Protection Law, relevant departments can effectively fulfill their responsibilities, enforce the law strictly, and protect the next generation from tobacco," said Professor Wang Qingbin.