Hebei Legal Daily: Hebei Standardizes Vaping Market Order

The publicity event. Photo by Zhao Yikang and Zhao Qianqian

Hebei Legal Daily News (Zhao Yikang) On March 22, the Chang'an District People’s Procuratorate of Shijiazhuang, together with the Chang'an District Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, visited a shopping mall in the district to carry out a legal awareness campaign on “cracking down on illegal e-cigarettes.” The campaign promoted relevant legal knowledge to consumers and merchants in order to further consolidate the results of judicial case handling and administrative law enforcement, regulate the e-cigarette market order, and continue advancing law-based and standardized governance of the e-cigarette industry.

Recently, while handling an e-cigarette-related case, the procuratorate found that the quality of e-cigarettes sold on the market varied widely. In response, its Second Procuratorial Department actively communicated with the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and other departments, urging them to perform their duties in accordance with the law, step up special inspections, and effectively safeguard the public’s health.

“E-cigarettes also require a license to sell and must not be purchased or distributed through illegal channels.” At the event, staff from the procuratorate’s Second Procuratorial Department explained the harms of e-cigarettes, the consequences of selling e-cigarettes without a license, and the relevant laws and regulations through on-site presentations, leaflet distribution, and product displays. Citizens were advised to stay vigilant, avoid curiosity, avoid blindly following trends, and avoid trying e-cigarettes so as not to be swept up by the “pseudo-trend” surrounding them, while merchants were reminded to operate in a compliant manner.