Why Aren’t E-Cigarettes Sold on Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, or Suning?

First of all, it is certain that the regulations in place prohibit e-commerce platforms from selling e-cigarettes. The main reason is that many merchants on e-commerce platforms and social networks knowingly sell e-cigarettes to minors without verifying their identities, or even knowing they are minors, which is extremely irresponsible and unethical. The YOOZ specialty store firmly implements the "Guardian Program" and will never sell e-cigarettes to minors, requiring identification to ensure that only adults over 18 years old can purchase them, adhering to the principle of earning money through proper means.

As shown in the image, before November 2019, searching for "how to buy cartridges on Taobao," "YOOZ e-cigarettes," "YOOZ cartridges," etc., yielded many results.

According to a report on e-cigarettes published by the World Health Organization in 2014, e-cigarettes, also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, work by heating a solution to produce vapor for users to inhale. The main components of cartridges are nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, and additives. Adolescents are the primary target market for e-cigarettes, and once minors start using them, they can become addicted, which may lead them to smoke regular cigarettes. Due to the addictive nature of nicotine and its health risks, it can harm the physical and mental health and development of minors. Furthermore, the WHO report indicates that there is currently insufficient evidence to prove that using e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking.

One of the most popular e-cigarettes around 2019 was IQOS, a low-temperature heated tobacco product without open flames, but it still poses significant health risks. There are many other types of e-cigarettes, leading to a chaotic market with varying product quality. Many substandard products containing unsafe ingredients, poor-quality batteries, etc., have entered the market, posing serious quality and safety risks. Some e-cigarette companies even add various colorings and flavorings to enhance product appeal, which poses serious health risks to consumers, especially minors.

Therefore, in 2019 and 2020, the government issued documents prohibiting e-commerce platforms from selling e-cigarettes and cracking down on illegal activities. Since then, mainstream e-commerce platforms have removed e-cigarettes from their listings. The policy content is as follows, sourced from Sina Finance - two departments issued a document prohibiting e-commerce platforms from selling e-cigarettes and cracking down on illegal activities:

"The Notice on Further Protecting Minors from the Harm of E-Cigarettes" urges e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers to promptly shut down e-cigarette sales websites or apps; e-commerce platforms to promptly close e-cigarette stores and remove e-cigarette products; and e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers to withdraw e-cigarette advertisements published online.

From a regulatory perspective, it is suggested that the health and market supervision departments oversee e-cigarettes. However, given the current lack of management capacity, it may also be entrusted to the tobacco monopoly department for regulation.

On November 1, the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from the Harm of E-Cigarettes" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), stating that from the date of issuance, e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers must promptly shut down e-cigarette sales websites or apps; e-commerce platforms must promptly close e-cigarette stores and remove e-cigarette products; and e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers must withdraw e-cigarette advertisements published online.

On the same day, the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau also released a policy interpretation of the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from the Harm of E-Cigarettes," clearly stating that the current domestic e-cigarette market is chaotic, with varying product quality, and many products contain unsafe ingredients, leaking e-liquids, poor-quality batteries, and other serious quality and safety hazards. In particular, some e-cigarette companies randomly add various additives to change the flavor and color of e-liquids, posing serious health risks to consumers, especially minors.

Therefore, the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation decided to jointly issue this notice based on the "Notice on Prohibiting the Sale of E-Cigarettes to Minors" released last August, aiming to implement the spirit and requirements of laws and regulations such as the Minor Protection Law and the Advertising Law, and further protect minors from the harm of e-cigarettes.