How to Stop E-Cigarettes from Spreading Among Minors?

How to stop e-cigarettes from spreading among minors? This year, cities like Shenzhen and Chengdu have amended their smoking control regulations to include e-cigarettes in the smoking ban. Industry experts state that these regulations clearly prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors, marking an important step in protecting minors from the influence of e-cigarettes. It is suggested that future policies further emphasize the protection of young people.

 
How to stop e-cigarettes from spreading among minors?

Currently, both national and local authorities are strengthening regulations to prevent the spread of e-cigarettes among young people.

In 2018, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued a notice prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, requiring all market entities not to sell e-cigarettes to minors. It is recommended that e-commerce platforms remove e-cigarette products containing terms like "student" or "minor" and penalize or shut down related stores (sellers); strengthen the review of e-cigarette product names listed for sale, and take effective measures to block related keywords, ensuring that e-cigarette products are not displayed to minors.

The newly revised "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Smoking Control Regulations" explicitly expands the concept of "smoking" to include the use of e-cigarettes and possession of other tobacco products that are ignited or heated without burning. It also stipulates that outdoor areas of educational or activity venues primarily serving minors are prohibited from smoking; tobacco products cannot be sold within a 50-meter radius of primary and secondary schools or youth activity centers.

The "Chengdu Public Places Smoking Control Regulations (Draft Revision)" introduced this year also clearly includes e-cigarette use as a smoking behavior and explicitly prohibits tobacco product operators from selling tobacco products to minors. For those whose age is difficult to determine, operators should require them to present identification; those who cannot provide identification should not be sold tobacco products.

Attracting young people through "fashion" and "health" advertising, online and offline sales without ID checks

Investigations reveal that e-cigarette sellers attract trendy young consumers through advertising that emphasizes "fashion," "health," and "easy quitting."

A 2016 study showed that 89% of e-cigarette online stores promoted health benefits, 78% claimed there was no secondhand smoke harm, and 67% suggested they could help quit smoking. Ding Hua, deputy director of the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that e-cigarettes mislead young people into thinking their nicotine content is low, leading them to unknowingly develop an addiction.

Zhuang Runsen, executive vice president of the Shenzhen Smoking Control Association, indicated that research shows the demographic affected by e-cigarettes is increasingly penetrating into young people. E-cigarettes often present a cool, stylish, and fun image in advertising, which inadvertently attracts minors. "They think the smoke they exhale looks beautiful and feels trendy, but they don't realize e-cigarettes are harmful."

Investigations found that due to the lower barriers to entry for e-cigarette sales compared to traditional cigarettes, online purchases lack verification, and offline purchases lack checks, making it easy for minors to buy e-cigarettes.

On the third-party complaint platform "Black Cat Complaints," a user complained about Pinduoduo selling e-cigarettes to minors. The user stated that in July this year, their underage brother inquired with an e-cigarette seller on Pinduoduo about whether they could sell to minors, and the seller's customer service said yes and ultimately shipped the product.

In November 2018, Mr. Zhang discovered that his 17-year-old son was smoking e-cigarettes. Upon checking the transaction records, he found that his son had purchased them from the "Green Sound Vape Flagship Store" on Tmall. Before purchasing, his son had asked, "Can I use it at 17?" The customer service replied, "Yes, you can use it." When Mr. Zhang asked the customer service why they sold to minors, they pretended not to know.

Although some e-cigarette brands have labels stating, "Not for use by minors and other groups," there are no clear restrictions in offline sales. When asked how to confirm a customer's age, the owner of an e-cigarette experience store in Beijing stated that they mainly judge by appearance and do not check IDs.

Experts suggest that the government should introduce relevant regulations to emphasize the protection of minors

Hou Hongwei, deputy director of the National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, stated that most e-cigarettes' core component is purified nicotine, which is a highly toxic chemical. Minors' respiratory systems are not fully developed, and inhaling such aerosol can adversely affect lung function and may lead to nicotine poisoning and other health risks if used improperly.

Yang Tingzhong, director and professor at the Tobacco Control Research Center of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, believes that e-cigarettes should not have a special status and should be subject to the same restrictions as regular tobacco in terms of advertising, marketing, and consumption venues.

Industry experts call for the government to increase research on e-cigarettes and quickly introduce more comprehensive and detailed regulatory measures, especially to strengthen the protection of minors.

Jiang Yuan, vice president of the China Tobacco Control Association, stated that although regulatory authorities have previously implemented some measures, there are various difficulties in execution. Meanwhile, e-cigarettes come in thousands of flavors, posing a significant temptation to minors. He calls for increased regulatory efforts to strictly prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

"Currently, many countries around the world prohibit the sale of any type of e-cigarettes." Ding Hua, deputy director of the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests emphasizing the protection of minors in national regulations.

"We urge the government to quickly introduce regulatory policies for e-cigarette products and markets, strengthening oversight of sales channels such as physical stores and online shops." Hou Hongwei said, "All sectors of society should work together to protect minors from the harm of e-cigarettes and create a favorable social environment for their healthy growth."