Shanghai Tobacco Group Steadily Advances R&D and Manufacturing of New Tobacco Products

Since 2014, Shanghai Tobacco Group Co., Ltd. has taken the establishment of its New Tobacco Products Engineering Center as an opportunity to actively build a product technology R&D system structured around “basic research - applied technology research - product research,” following the working approach of “develop one generation, improve one generation, conceive one generation,” and has steadily advanced the R&D and manufacturing of new tobacco products.

First, it focused on team building and platform development. It took the lead in the industry in forming research teams centered on smokeless tobacco product research, e-cigarette research, and novel cigarette research, while also covering related fields such as basic research, packaging formation and design research, flavors and fragrances research, consumer research, and policy and regulatory research. It also established an independent office space for the engineering center and planned pilot production lines for oral tobacco products, electronic testing rooms, and other experimental facilities, creating a layered, focused, and broadly participatory atmosphere for technological innovation.

Second, it focused on core technologies and mechanism exploration. Centered on key technology research, it undertook 9 group-level scientific and technological projects during the year, supported by 4 sub-projects under major State Tobacco Monopoly Administration initiatives, and led 2 industry standard projects. For novel cigarette products, it independently developed and designed core components such as electric heating elements and sensor control circuits, providing technical support for diversifying future product formats. For e-cigarette products, it developed a new multifunctional circuit control system featuring pod recognition and puff counting, and established a list of key e-cigarette indicators, indicator definitions, and a testing system. For oral tobacco products, it formulated and revised multiple testing and preparation methods for chemical substances in new tobacco products.

Third, it pursued patents and product innovation. In the field of new tobacco product R&D, 24 new patents were authorized or published during the year. In oral tobacco product R&D, it completed the design and manufacturing plan for the first domestic pilot line for oral tobacco products, established the industry’s first product standards framework for new tobacco products, and proposed quality, safety, and hygiene requirements for oral tobacco products, as well as key safety indicators and limit requirements for oral tobacco raw materials. In e-cigarette product R&D, it completed the design of the first domestic dedicated e-cigarette smoking machine. In novel cigarette product R&D, it successfully assembled a prototype electric-heated novel cigarette, developed standards for flavor formulations for novel cigarettes, and initially formed a safety certification framework for novel cigarettes.