The Lab Race Is On: Vaping Companies Such as RELX and Smoore Step Up Foundational Safety Research

As global electronic cigarette safety standards tighten further, the U.S. Tobacco Product Premarket Application (PMTA) places a high emphasis on harm reduction evidence, prompting vaping companies to accelerate foundational research on product safety.

In March 2021 and February 2022, RELX submitted two clinical research applications regarding electronic cigarettes to the China Clinical Trial Registration Center (ChiCTR), with the latest approved clinical trial focusing on electronic cigarette safety.

Earlier, Smoore, a global leader in aerosol technology, successfully applied for a National Natural Science Foundation project in collaboration with Tongji University, becoming the first domestic electronic aerosol technology company to obtain a national-level research project.

In September 2021, under the leadership of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronic Commerce Association, leading electronic aerosol companies like Smoore and RELX jointly drafted the "General Technical Specifications for Electronic Cigarette Devices" and the "Safety Technical Specifications for Electronic Aerosol Liquids." The introduction of these two standards marks a new phase of higher standards and requirements for the Chinese electronic aerosol industry.

It is evident that major companies are fully utilizing their research and technological accumulation to build a higher moat for product safety. With the national standards for electronic cigarettes about to be implemented in China and the FDA maintaining its high standards for PMTA reviews, electronic cigarette brands and suppliers need to adequately demonstrate the harm reduction and safety of their products to regulatory agencies and consumers. Chinese companies also need to explore more possibilities for the industry from a higher perspective, and in this process, leading companies with strong technological capabilities will quickly break through.

For example, in January this year, Smoore launched the new generation ultra-thin electronic aerosol solution "FEELM Air" in London, which boasts an 80% improvement in overall harm reduction performance compared to the previous generation, far exceeding the draft standards for electronic cigarettes in China.

As a leading electronic aerosol brand serving global consumers and enterprise clients, Smoore and other leading companies need to ensure their product safety systems comply with regulatory standards in multiple markets. The upcoming national standards for electronic cigarettes in China mandate manufacturers to enhance product safety, and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration requires companies to provide scientific evidence regarding product safety. When VUSE Solo successfully passed PMTA certification in October 2021, the FDA also emphasized that approved products must demonstrate their contribution to protecting public health.

Currently, the public consultation for China's national standards for electronic cigarettes ended on January 29 and has entered the review stage. According to the draft version of the national standards, clear technical requirements have been proposed for electronic cigarette devices, liquids, and emissions. Many of these requirements exceed existing international electronic cigarette standards, raising the competitive standards for existing electronic cigarette companies and imposing higher requirements on newcomers.

It is foreseeable that in the electronic cigarette industry, a new laboratory competition has quietly begun, with safety research as the fulcrum.