Advertise, test smoking, change vests... Be wary of e-cigarette sales giving minors the green light
Half a month to talk about reporter Lin Guangyao
In the past two years, e-cigarettes have entered the public’s field of vision, with conspicuous posters, cool advertisements, and "free trial smoking" signs attracting people to try; lottery stations, cafes, even gyms, and convenience stores are all sold in conspicuous places; online , E-cigarette sales seem to be a "hidden world" on their own... Purchase is becoming more and more convenient, and even without asking the identity of the customer, it gives a big green light to young people.
This selling method should be strictly monitored.
Open stores "Great Leap Forward", electronic cigarettes can also be advertised?
I don't know when, the counter full of electronic cigarette vapers (cigarette sticks) and bombs has become the new "standard equipment" in the urban business district.
A Beijing netizen said clearly: "How can every shopping mall see the sales point of e-cigarettes?" Not only in big cities, a Zhejiang netizen said: "Our third-tier small city, the most recent one is e-cigarettes. shop."
This is not an illusion.
In the past two years, offline e-cigarette stores have expanded rapidly.
According to public information released by a well-known e-cigarette company, at the beginning of September 2020, the brand has more than 5,000 e-cigarette stores, which will increase to 10,000 after more than three months.
At the same time, the company's electronic cigarette distribution network has covered more than 250 domestic cities, with more than 100,000 retail outlets, and many stores have opened in the county. It is not difficult to buy its products in the rural market.
Not only is the sales channel "Great Leap Forward", the promotion of e-cigarettes is also quite vigorous.
The reporter of Banyue Tan visited Beijing and found that some e-cigarette specialty stores posted large posters taller than one person at the door, and some even put on a display screen to play beautifully produced advertising videos in a loop. The models in the promotional videos couldn’t help handling all kinds of styles. Smoke ring, "fun" and "taste" became the keywords of the advertisement.
Such a trend is in contrast with the low-key advertising in the tobacco industry in the public's impression.
In addition, the reporter of Banyuetan noticed that although offline retail stores of e-cigarettes will mark the words "prohibited to use by minors" on posters and shelves, and declare that they need to show their ID to purchase related products, but in the actual cigarette purchase process, Sales staff often don't care about the age of the customer.
A certain brand of e-cigarette claims that customers need to complete identity authentication and age verification procedures through registered members when purchasing, but in actual operation, as long as they choose not to register, they can bypass these procedures and pay directly, and the purchase of cigarettes is smooth and unimpeded.
In order to attract customers, some e-cigarette retail stores also provide "free trial smoking."
The Banyuetan reporter found that these stores have spent a lot of effort on making it easier for customers to sit down and try smoking, and they don’t even consider confirming whether the tester is an adult.
Sell "hide and seek" and buy e-cigarettes like spy connectors?
In 2018 and 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration jointly issued two notices to strengthen the supervision of e-cigarettes. On the eve of the "Double Eleven" in 2019, major e-commerce platforms will "off the shelves" of e-cigarettes. .
Has the e-cigarette disappeared on the Internet?
No, online sales of e-cigarettes are playing "hide and seek".
The reporter of Banyue Tan searched for "electronic atomizer" on a certain online platform, and found many products with "cigarette stick" and "cigarette bomb" in the name but ending with the word "charging box". The product picture also added " The picture is not important. Look at the word, the brand has ""Consult customer service has surprises" "Please consult customer service before placing an order"...
The reporter of Banyue Tan clicked on a link, greeted the customer service, and received an automatic reply, and was prompted to add a WeChat private chat.
On WeChat, the other party quickly sent a catalogue and price list with pictures and texts, all of which are available for all major brands.
After the selection, the seller asked Banyuetan reporters to take pictures of the products on the above-mentioned online platforms, and instead paid for them at the actual price of the e-cigarette.
During the entire process, the reporter’s age or identity information was never asked or verified.
After several attempts, the reporter of Banyue Tan found that the sales models of such online sellers are similar, and many of them sell thousands of orders each month.
In addition to "electronic atomizers", keywords such as "atomizing sticks" and "atomizing energy bars" can also open up the secret world of electronic cigarette sales for consumers.
It is understood that the above-mentioned online platforms are only one of the channels for virtual transactions of electronic cigarettes, and many consumers can complete transactions with sellers through WeChat.
On another shopping software, Banyuetan reporters even encountered sellers who claimed to be able to provide nicotine concentration of up to 8.5mg of "Energy Greater" and "Foreign Trade Edition" cartridges. The pictures of the products sent did not have any Chinese logos.
What do all these sellers have in common?
——Never verify the identity of the customer.
Let the light of supervision enter the secret world
Some survey results show that the risk of adolescents becoming cigarette users after using e-cigarettes is 2.21 times that of those who have never used e-cigarettes.
It is worth noting that e-cigarettes have quietly penetrated into the lives of young people in our country.
A Nanjing netizen once sighed: “There are many middle school students on the road who wear electronic cigarettes on their necks.” The "2019 Chinese Middle School Student Tobacco Survey" released by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Chinese middle school students have heard of and are using it in the past five years. The proportion of e-cigarettes has risen significantly.
Wang Chen, a practicing lawyer at Zhejiang Liuhe Law Firm, stated that the two national e-cigarette regulatory notices in 2018 and 2019 did not provide for the consequences of selling e-cigarettes to minors, which has led to almost no relevant penalties. The customer-identified seller "Liangjian".
A number of market supervisory staff pointed out that before the implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law was officially incorporated into e-cigarettes, they were still trapped in the blind spot of law enforcement: "If there is no way to follow, there is no law enforcement and no effective protection of minors. "Improving legislation is the common call of all sectors of society.
The Beijing Tobacco Control Association stated on April 20 that the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is not suitable for e-cigarette supervision, and it is recommended that the State Drug Administration and the State Administration of Market Supervision supervise e-cigarettes.
"The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is essentially performing the corporate functions of the Tobacco Corporation, and is not suitable as a supervisory unit for electronic cigarettes." said Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association.
The revision of the implementation regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law has just begun to solicit opinions.
Let the light of legal supervision shine into the secret world of e-cigarette sales, and people are looking forward to it.
(Participation in writing: Intern Cai Yulan) (Original title: "E-cigarette advertising, test smoking, change vest... As long as you sell e-cigarettes, you can control your adulthood.")