What Is the Difference Between Heated Tobacco Products and E-Cigarettes?
What is the difference between heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes? Terminology in the industry remains quite confusing, and there is still no unified standard for naming heated tobacco products. Heated tobacco products are not e-cigarettes, yet they
What is the difference between heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes? There is a lot of confusion in the industry regarding the terminology used for heated tobacco products. Heated tobacco products are not e-cigarettes, yet they are often mistakenly referred to as such.
In fact, even within the industry, the terminology is quite chaotic. When heated tobacco products first emerged, the definition was unclear, and e-cigarette public accounts referred to them in the same way. In retrospect, there was a lack of educational outreach.
It is now necessary to clarify: heated tobacco ≠ e-cigarettes; heated tobacco products do not belong to e-cigarettes! E-cigarettes are e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products are heated tobacco products; they are two distinct categories of products. According to current terminology, both fall under the category of new tobacco products.
As one industry colleague said, "They are like brothers, not parent and child." Referring to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes is akin to defining heated tobacco products as a branch of e-cigarettes, which is incorrect.
Although both heated tobacco devices and e-cigarettes have batteries and are electronic products, the e-cigarette pods that contain e-liquid are not the same as those used in heated tobacco products. The main component of heated tobacco product pods is tobacco leaves, while the main components of e-cigarette e-liquids are vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). There are significant differences.
Before May 15, 2017, it was acceptable to refer to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes, but after May 15, 2017, this terminology should no longer be used. On May 11, 2017, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration held a teleconference to strengthen the regulation of the tobacco market, and on May 15, they issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of the Tobacco Market."
The first point of this notice states: "All units must recognize that heated tobacco products are tobacco products in themselves and do not change the essential properties of tobacco." According to legal regulations, they must be "legally included in the regulatory scope, and heated tobacco products that contain tobacco as their main ingredient must be legally investigated and dealt with."
If you look at the reports from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration at national tobacco work meetings over the years, they have never referred to heated tobacco e-cigarettes. When discussing e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, they always mention them separately, saying, "e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and other new tobacco products."
Even after more than a year since the issuance of the "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of the Tobacco Market," many online news reports in 2018 still referred to illegal operations involving heated tobacco pods as "XXX uncovered the first case of illegal operation of new non-burning e-cigarettes."
As the public, it is understandable to be unaware of these distinctions. However, it is embarrassing for well-known media outlets to report this way, as it misleads the public!
It is particularly amusing that some well-known media outlets have used headlines like "First case of illegal operation of e-cigarettes uncovered," "This e-cigarette cannot be sold indiscriminately," and "First case of illegal sale of e-cigarettes: selling e-cigarettes without a license may violate criminal law" to attract attention and mislead the public! The uninformed public might think that e-cigarettes are also illegal to sell!
It is important to further clarify that currently, the illegal operations involve heated tobacco pods, not heated tobacco devices. Heated tobacco devices are electronic products and are not currently included in tobacco monopoly regulations. If they are produced domestically and sold within the country, they are legal; only those smuggled in from abroad for sale are considered "illegal."
In the future, do not refer to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes anymore!
In fact, even within the industry, the terminology is quite chaotic. When heated tobacco products first emerged, the definition was unclear, and e-cigarette public accounts referred to them in the same way. In retrospect, there was a lack of educational outreach.
It is now necessary to clarify: heated tobacco ≠ e-cigarettes; heated tobacco products do not belong to e-cigarettes! E-cigarettes are e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products are heated tobacco products; they are two distinct categories of products. According to current terminology, both fall under the category of new tobacco products.
As one industry colleague said, "They are like brothers, not parent and child." Referring to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes is akin to defining heated tobacco products as a branch of e-cigarettes, which is incorrect.Although both heated tobacco devices and e-cigarettes have batteries and are electronic products, the e-cigarette pods that contain e-liquid are not the same as those used in heated tobacco products. The main component of heated tobacco product pods is tobacco leaves, while the main components of e-cigarette e-liquids are vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). There are significant differences.
Before May 15, 2017, it was acceptable to refer to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes, but after May 15, 2017, this terminology should no longer be used. On May 11, 2017, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration held a teleconference to strengthen the regulation of the tobacco market, and on May 15, they issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of the Tobacco Market."The first point of this notice states: "All units must recognize that heated tobacco products are tobacco products in themselves and do not change the essential properties of tobacco." According to legal regulations, they must be "legally included in the regulatory scope, and heated tobacco products that contain tobacco as their main ingredient must be legally investigated and dealt with."
If you look at the reports from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration at national tobacco work meetings over the years, they have never referred to heated tobacco e-cigarettes. When discussing e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, they always mention them separately, saying, "e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and other new tobacco products."
Even after more than a year since the issuance of the "Notice on Strengthening the Supervision of the Tobacco Market," many online news reports in 2018 still referred to illegal operations involving heated tobacco pods as "XXX uncovered the first case of illegal operation of new non-burning e-cigarettes."
As the public, it is understandable to be unaware of these distinctions. However, it is embarrassing for well-known media outlets to report this way, as it misleads the public!It is particularly amusing that some well-known media outlets have used headlines like "First case of illegal operation of e-cigarettes uncovered," "This e-cigarette cannot be sold indiscriminately," and "First case of illegal sale of e-cigarettes: selling e-cigarettes without a license may violate criminal law" to attract attention and mislead the public! The uninformed public might think that e-cigarettes are also illegal to sell!
It is important to further clarify that currently, the illegal operations involve heated tobacco pods, not heated tobacco devices. Heated tobacco devices are electronic products and are not currently included in tobacco monopoly regulations. If they are produced domestically and sold within the country, they are legal; only those smuggled in from abroad for sale are considered "illegal."In the future, do not refer to heated tobacco products as heated tobacco e-cigarettes anymore!
