E-Cigarettes as a Trendy Mid-Autumn Festival Gift: Do You Agree?

Introduction: The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and many people are troubled about what gifts to give. Major e-commerce platforms are pulling out all the stops, such as, “Here we recommend healthy fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Giving e-cigarettes is giving health!” Is giving e-cigarettes really giving health? Has the Mid-Autumn Festival become an excuse for selling e-cigarettes?
According to Chinese e-cigarette news: “Many people are troubled about gift-giving for the Mid-Autumn Festival. What kind of gifts are fashionable and healthy? Here we recommend healthy fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.” As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, major e-commerce platforms are promoting “Mid-Autumn trendy gifts”—e-cigarettes, just like they do with mooncakes.
On September 1, a search for “e-cigarettes” on Taobao revealed over 60,000 product images. Although the designs vary, their structure and principle are the same—they consist of a device and e-liquid, capable of producing “smoke” and emitting “flames,” with flavors similar to traditional cigarettes. “The ultimate smoking cessation tool” is almost a unified advertising slogan from all manufacturers.
“Giving e-cigarettes is giving health!” The reporter saw a promotion at an e-cigarette store in Changzhou, where “Mid-Autumn Festival promotion at 45% off” was ongoing. The store's customer service replied that “e-cigarettes have been selling well recently, with white and blue colors sold out. They not only help quit smoking but are also non-addictive, truly a healthy gift.”
A store in Suzhou selling “branded e-cigarettes” also claimed, “Pure natural plant extracts, as low as zero nicotine, healthy smoking cessation.” The nicotine content of the e-cigarettes sold in this store is divided into four levels, with the highest being 24 mg and the lowest being 0 mg. When asked if it can really “help quit smoking,” the customer service explained that the principle is nicotine replacement therapy—first replacing cigarettes based on smoking history and daily consumption, then controlling smoking—combining personal willpower to gradually reduce the nicotine concentration in the e-liquid, ultimately achieving successful cessation.
Isn't nicotine in cigarettes and e-cigarettes harmful? In response to the reporter's doubts, the customer service began to explain “scientific findings,” stating, “In cigarettes, the most harmful substances to the body are not nicotine, but tar and carbon monoxide. E-cigarette e-liquids do not contain tar or carbon monoxide, so they are absolutely safe.” She kindly said, “Our products are popular both domestically and internationally, helping many foreigners quit smoking.”
Are e-cigarettes really the “ultimate smoking cessation tool”? Zhang Haiping, a long-time smoker from Nanjing, shared his experience. Seven or eight years ago, he first encountered e-cigarettes and subsequently bought several generations and types of e-cigarettes, ranging from thousands of yuan to dozens of yuan each. “After smoking e-cigarettes for seven or eight years, I still can’t quit.” He smiled bitterly and lit a traditional cigarette.
“There is no evidence that it can help quit smoking.” Professor Wu Yiqun, deputy director of the Beijing New Exploration Health Development Research Center, told the reporter over the phone, “When e-cigarettes first appeared in China, a brand claimed it could help quit smoking, but when we asked them for data, they never followed up.”
Engaged in anti-smoking public welfare activities for over a decade, Wu Yiqun said that e-cigarette advertisements are so attractive, promoting various flavors, claiming to contain only nicotine, without tar, and no secondhand smoke, with numerous benefits, which is tempting and misleading consumers. “In fact, the nicotine contained in e-cigarette liquids is also addictive. The added flavors are harmful to both oneself and the environment.”
According to statistics from the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, there are over 300 million smokers in China, accounting for one-third of the world's total smokers. Among them, the smoking rate among teenagers is 11.5%, with about 14 million teenage smokers, and 40 million teenagers have tried smoking. “The smoking rate among teenagers is showing a trend of becoming younger and increasing.” Wu Yiqun said, “We have also found that teenagers who smoke e-cigarettes are three times more likely to switch to traditional cigarettes than those who do not smoke e-cigarettes. We need to prevent teenagers from transitioning from showing off e-cigarette use to becoming dependent on nicotine from e-cigarettes.”
On August 26, the World Health Organization released a report calling for e-cigarettes to be regulated like tobacco, issuing indoor use bans and prohibiting sales to minors. “The WHO's advocacy is correct.” Wu Yiqun expressed concern, stating that many cigarette manufacturers are developing the e-cigarette market, while there are currently no laws and regulations in China regulating e-cigarettes. If e-cigarettes are not regulated like tobacco, they may spread just like traditional cigarettes. Regarding e-cigarettes, she emphasized the “three no’s” bottom line—no smoking in public places, no sales to minors, and no advertising. “Let teenagers know that e-cigarettes are addictive chemical products.” She urged.
The reporter found online that the “China E-Cigarette Summit Forum” will be held in early September in Shenzhen, where e-cigarette factories are concentrated. The organizer, the E-Cigarette Industry Association, revealed to the reporter that over 120 companies have paid their membership fees. An email sent to the reporter by the association indicated that this year is the “first year of e-cigarette development,” and there is potential for explosive growth in the domestic e-cigarette market, with many opportunities.
After the interview, the reporter returned to Taobao, where e-cigarette advertisements had appeared based on “your recent views.” When e-cigarette advertisements infiltrate new media, will they hit teenagers with poor self-control? Hopefully, the reporter's concerns are merely unfounded worries.