IQOS Imports Are Getting Blocked, While Lami ZERO Zero Jia Leads the Way in the Trillion-Yuan Heated

Recently, I saw someone in my social circle discussing the WeChat index and the trending "Lami ZERO." I was shocked when I looked it up.

It was surprisingly high, almost rivaling IQOS. Some netizens might ask, what is Lami ZERO? Looking at the title and search trend graph, whether in absolute value or change trend, there is a high degree of overlap. People might speculate that it has something to do with IQOS. Before understanding the reason for its high index, let's analyze the connection between IQOS and Lami ZERO.

What is IQOS?

IQOS is a new type of electronic cigarette produced in Japan, also known as HNB (Heat Not Burn) tobacco, developed by Philip Morris in Japan.

It has the taste of real tobacco, contains no tar, and has no secondhand smoke hazards. Its craftsmanship, feel, and flavor cannot be imitated by domestic knockoffs.

Since its launch in 2015, it has become very popular in China, with about 100 million Chinese tourists going to Japan each year to buy IQOS, many of whom don't even know what it's for.

Later, the National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Inspection Center identified that IQOS electronic cigarettes (heat-not-burn cigarettes) contain characteristic tobacco components and are classified as tobacco monopoly products. According to Article 23 of the Implementation Regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law, enterprises or individuals with a tobacco monopoly retail license must purchase from local tobacco monopoly wholesale enterprises and accept supervision and management from the tobacco monopoly licensing authority. New tobacco products entering the Chinese market through smuggling not only disrupt the order of the domestic cigarette market and affect the development of new tobacco products but also seriously impact tobacco tax revenue in China. Therefore, purchasing or selling IQOS is illegal.

On September 30, news from Bloomberg reported that Philip Morris International and its partner Altria Group lost a legal dispute with British American Tobacco in a U.S. trade agency and will be prohibited from importing IQOS heated tobacco sticks into the U.S. The U.S. International Trade Commission announced on its website that Philip Morris and Altria infringed on two patents owned by Reynolds American, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. The import ban—and the order to stop selling any already imported products—will take effect within 60 days. This has further led to a shortage of IQOS tobacco sticks.

LAMI ZERO

LAMI ZERO is a new category HDB product (Heat Doesn’t Burn) under the Lami brand, including devices and tobacco sticks.

LAMI ZERO tobacco sticks are packaged in units of ten boxes per carton, with each box containing 20 sticks. The packaging, whether in terms of paper or design, is eye-catching and definitely a high-end product. To quickly distinguish, products containing nicotine use a dark design, while those without nicotine use a white design.

In short, LAMI ZERO is just a heated tobacco stick. Why is it related to IQOS?

Because LAMI ZERO's tobacco sticks can replace IQOS tobacco sticks, providing a new option for those who are fans of IQOS in China.

The ZERO+ LAMI product was developed simultaneously with IQOS in 2015, and after six years of research on heat-not-burn technology, it finally broke through technical barriers, using plant-based materials to replace tobacco, achieving a tobacco-free product that can still contain nicotine, providing an experience comparable to IQOS, more suited to Chinese tastes.

True smokers find it difficult to achieve the liquid vaporization conversion, and there are many people who own IQOS devices but cannot find IQOS tobacco sticks. The devices, which cost thousands, are essentially rendered useless. At this time, the ZERO+ LAMI product fills a significant gap in the electronic cigarette market.

Recently, the CEO of tobacco giant Philip Morris (PMI) stated that the company plans to phase out combustible cigarettes in Japan within ten years.

On the other hand, British American Tobacco has also signed a UN-supported zero-emission initiative, committing to achieve net-zero emissions globally by 2050.

This means that both PMI and British American Tobacco will abandon combustible cigarettes and move towards heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes. For ZERO+ LAMI, this is a very favorable opportunity, and undoubtedly a good thing for the entire domestic low-temperature herbal industry. #p#分页标题#e#