Tobacco Monopoly Bureau Enforces Online Vaping Sales Ban; JD Removes Search Results and Products
On November 5, a reporter from The Paper found that when searching for "e-cigarettes" on the JD App, the result displayed was "Sorry, no products found." Searches for e-cigarette brands such as "RELX," "Fulu," and "Xiao Ye" also yielded no results.
However, some e-cigarette products that the reporter had previously added to the shopping cart were still accessible, allowing for immediate purchase, and the product pages for e-cigarettes still showed recommendations for products, allowing clicks into stores for brands like "Bode."
That evening, JD responded to The Paper, stating that they highly value and firmly support the requirements of the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation to "not sell e-cigarettes to minors." They have blocked and are gradually removing e-cigarette products, fully cooperating with government departments and regulatory agencies in managing e-cigarette companies, and continuously working to protect minors, contributing to the regulation of a healthy e-cigarette market.
Previously, on November 1, the State Administration for Market Regulation published a notice titled "Further Protecting Minors from the Harm of E-cigarettes."
This notice was jointly issued by the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation, mentioning that to further enhance the protection of minors' physical and mental health and prevent minors from purchasing and using e-cigarettes online, from the date of this notice, e-cigarette production and sales companies or individuals are urged to promptly close e-cigarette online sales websites or apps; e-commerce platforms are urged to promptly close e-cigarette stores and remove e-cigarette products; and e-cigarette production and sales companies or individuals are urged to retract e-cigarette advertisements published online.
On November 5, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency titled "State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau Conducts Special Deployment for E-cigarette Regulation," it was reported that tobacco monopoly regulatory departments at all levels are conducting special deployments for e-cigarette regulation, implementing multiple measures to regulate the promotion and sale of e-cigarettes online.
The report mentioned that, according to a relevant person in charge of the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's Supervision and Management Department, "As of now, some e-cigarette companies have already removed e-cigarette product sales links from their self-built websites, and more than a dozen e-commerce platforms have removed all e-cigarette products. More e-cigarette production, sales companies, and e-commerce platforms have clearly stated that they will strictly follow the notice requirements to promptly close e-cigarette online sales websites, apps, and stores, remove e-cigarette products, and retract e-cigarette advertisements published online."
However, some e-commerce platforms still list e-cigarettes as promotional products for "Double Eleven," and consumers can still purchase e-cigarette products online; numerous e-cigarette-related accounts and information still exist on social media.
According to this responsible person, tobacco monopoly regulatory departments in key areas are working with relevant law enforcement departments to jointly interview major e-commerce platforms, urging them to promptly close e-cigarette stores and remove e-cigarette products. The tobacco monopoly regulatory departments will also establish a dynamic monitoring mechanism across the internet, strengthen online monitoring, and comprehensively search for information related to e-cigarette products on the internet. The State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau will adopt stricter regulatory measures to legally investigate and deal with illegal production and sale of e-cigarettes.
