vape's online delisting regulations are industry-specific guidance documents

Following the announcement by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration of Market Management on November 1, urging vape to be sold online. On November 3, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily noticed that there were still many merchants selling vape and e-liquid products on e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com. People in the industry said that the notice is a guidance document within the industry and is not binding, so they call for strong laws and regulations.

On November 3, a reporter from Beijing Commercial Daily logged in to an vape Tmall flagship store. The "Double 11" preferential activity is still displayed on the homepage. For the announcement issued by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration of Supervision, the Tmall flagship store The customer service said: "We have just received this message, the person in charge is docking this matter. Orders that have been purchased will be issued normally." In another vape Tmall flagship store, customer service said that it can still be purchased now.

On November 1, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from Vape" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), requiring various market entities to Adults sell vape and e-liquid, and the Internet must not sell vape and e-liquid.

On the night of the announcement, several vape brands issued statements. However, a reporter from the Beijing Business Daily found that the focus of the statement was on "minor protection", "prohibition on selling vape to minors", and no mention of "internet ban".

A person in charge of an vape brand mentioned: "At the product level, we designed a child lock on the first-generation function to prevent minors from accidentally inhaling it; at the promotion level, there are signs that prohibit minors from experiencing and purchasing. . ", An vape Tmall flagship store customer service said that Alipay itself needs to bind an identity card, which will determine whether the buyer is an adult.

In fact, before the "Announcement" was issued, JD.com and Tmall both issued relevant regulations on the sale of vape. JD.com announced at the end of September this year that it will launch vape and e-liquid to purchase identity verification systems, requiring merchants to complete related operations before 12:00 on October 15th. Products without verification measures will be removed from processing . After the announcement, some consumers found that they could not make vape purchases through a PC. The Beijing Business Daily reporter recently discovered that the PC can also be purchased normally.

In this regard, Guo Xiaohua, a lawyer from Beijing Weiheng Law Firm, told reporters that the regulatory documents formulated by the State Tobacco Administration do not belong to departmental regulations and can only be regarded as guidance documents in the industry. Therefore, the announcement is more equivalent to releasing a regulatory signal in the vape market, and further effectiveness requires the introduction of relevant laws and regulations. However, although both the brand and the platform have acted, this obviously does not meet the requirements.

Guo Xiaohua told the Beijing Business Daily: "Departmental regulations refer to the regulatory documents issued by the various departments and commissions under the highest administrative organ of the country to adjust the management of the department. Within this area, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The regulatory documents formulated by the Tobacco Bureau are not departmental regulations, they can only be regarded as guidance documents in the industry. If the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology formulated by the Tobacco Bureau is published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it is a departmental regulation. "

The "Announcement" is equivalent to the guidance document in the industry, but it is also a signal light for the state to regulate the vape. Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, told the Beijing Business Daily that vape is chaotic and has been in a state of disorderly development without supervision. Now there are policies specifically for online sales, indicating that management has begun. However, he also expressed concern about this. The “Notice on Prohibiting the Sale of vape to Minors” issued last August prohibits the direct promotion and sale of vape to minors, but the actual effect is not good.

China's current laws and regulations restrict vape's restrictive regulations mainly on regional tobacco control regulations. In October this year, the "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Regulations on Smoking Control" was amended to launch the first tobacco control law enforcement. The definition of smoking and tobacco products is clear, that is, "tobacco products" refers to all or part of tobacco produced as raw materials for smoking and sucking. , Chewing or sniffing products, and vape. "This means vape is also included in the scope of tobacco control.

"At present, cities such as Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, Qinhuangdao and other newly revised laws have included vape in the tobacco control scope. However, vape such as Beijing and Shanghai have been established earlier, and vape is not listed. We are now proposing" The Regulations on the Promotion of Civilization in Beijing's Citizens include a ban on smoking, including vape. "Zhang Jianshu told Beijing Business Daily.

The lack of production standards is perhaps the biggest problem in the current vape industry. Previously, there were media reports that the Shenzhen manhole, which is called "vape street" in the industry, produces 90% of vape worldwide. The vape industry has very low barriers to entry and the supply chain is very simple.

A few days ago, the inspection detachment of the Shenyang Tobacco Monopoly Bureau cracked a case of a large-scale illegal operation of heating and non-burning new cigarettes, and seized more than 4,000 Marlboro, HEETS, fiit, MC, and wide and narrow "smoke bombs" with a total amount of more than 35 million yuan.

"We also call for the introduction of specifications on production standards as soon as possible, including the uncertainty of the quality, composition and content of the products produced. Some products are marked on the surface and in fact have a large gap, which is prone to danger. Or we should start at the source and strengthen production Standard specifications. "Zhang Jianshu said.

According to the official website of the National Standardization Management Committee, the national standard of vape has now entered the review stage. After the standard is approved, China's vape production and distribution will be implemented in accordance with national standards. The competent authority is the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.