Two Departments in Lanzhou, Gansu Launch Special Training to Combat Illegal E-cigarette Shipping

On April 12, the Lanzhou Postal Administration and the Lanzhou Tobacco Monopoly Bureau jointly conducted special training to combat illegal shipping of electronic cigarettes, teaching all express delivery companies in the city about the characteristics of tobacco-related illegal activities and how to identify mail packages.

Fashionable packaging, a variety of flavors, and cool smoke rings have generated strong interest among young people. Some minors are becoming targets for electronic cigarettes, and express delivery packages are one of the important channels for illegally shipping electronic cigarettes and other products.

On-site of the special training (Image source: Central Broadcasting Network, provided by Gansu Tobacco Monopoly Bureau)

During the training, staff from the Lanzhou Tobacco Monopoly Bureau introduced the requirements from the notice jointly issued by the National Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the National Postal Administration in 2022 regarding the limited shipping of electronic cigarettes, analyzing the illegal shipping behaviors of criminals, focusing on the main sources of illegal tobacco products and their market entry routes, detailing the transportation requirements for tobacco products, personal carrying, and specific regulations for limited shipping, teaching how to identify tobacco-related illegal activities through behavior, location, and items, and introducing the reward policies and reporting channels for tobacco-related illegal activities.

Representatives from the participating express delivery companies stated that through the training, they further deepened their understanding of the laws and regulations related to tobacco in the shipping process, mastered the key points for quickly identifying electronic cigarettes, and will standardize their collection and delivery behaviors in future work, promptly reporting any tobacco-related illegal clues.

The "Electronic Cigarette Management Measures" implemented on May 1, 2022, stipulates that no individual, legal person, or other organization may sell electronic cigarette products, atomized substances, and nicotine for electronic cigarettes through information networks outside the electronic cigarette trading management platform specified by these measures; the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes other than tobacco flavor and electronic cigarettes that allow the addition of atomized substances is prohibited.

On-site of the special training (Image source: Central Broadcasting Network, provided by Gansu Tobacco Monopoly Bureau)

Since 2022, Lanzhou's tobacco, postal, public security, and market departments have jointly carried out special actions, cracking down on major tobacco-related illegal criminal cases through the shipping process, with 3 major cases and 128 tobacco-related illegal cases investigated, involving over 100 million yuan, severely punishing a number of illegal criminal organizations.

Yang Qingshan, a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Lanzhou Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, stated that flavored electronic cigarettes with fruit, food, and beverage tastes, as well as nicotine-free electronic cigarettes, have a strong attraction for minors. The Lanzhou Tobacco Monopoly Bureau will focus on cutting off circulation channels and continue to deepen the collaborative regulatory mechanism between postal management and tobacco monopoly.