Included in the scope of tobacco product control and set up a transition period-
Strong supervision is here, where will e-cigarettes "float"
Our reporter Huang Xin
The e-cigarette industry has ushered in stricter supervision.
On November 10, the "Decision of the State Council on Amending the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China"" was officially announced and implemented, clarifying that "e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of cigarettes in this regulation."
On December 2, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration held a briefing to respond to the regulatory issues of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes.
Liu Peifeng, director of the Office of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and spokesperson for the press, said that the products included in the scope of supervision include e-cigarette cartridges, smoking accessories, products sold in combination with cartridges and smoking accessories, and nicotine for e-cigarettes.
He emphasized that heated cigarettes (or heat-not-burn cigarettes, low-temperature cigarettes, etc.) belong to cigarettes and have been included in cigarette management.
my country has not approved the sale of heated cigarettes, and no market entity may illegally operate heated cigarettes.
It is understood that the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is studying and formulating related supporting policies. One is to work with relevant departments to study and formulate national standards for e-cigarettes, which have been publicly solicited from the public on November 30; and the second is to study and formulate management measures for e-cigarettes, which was completed in December. Solicit opinions from the society on the 2nd.
Wang Yulin, Director of the Policy, Regulations and System Reform Department of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, said that the "Administrative Measures for Electronic Cigarettes (Draft for Comment)" clarified the definition and regulatory objects of electronic cigarettes.
It is proposed to strengthen the management of e-cigarette production and establish an e-cigarette product quality and safety assurance system and an e-cigarette product traceability system.
Market entities engaged in the production, wholesale, and retail of electronic cigarettes must obtain licenses issued by the tobacco monopoly administrative department accordingly.
Establish a unified national electronic cigarette transaction management platform to conduct transaction management on electronic cigarette products and nicotine used in electronic cigarettes.
E-cigarette products shall comply with the national standards for electronic cigarettes, as well as the relevant regulations on packaging logos and warnings, and use registered trademarks in accordance with the law.
E-cigarette advertisements are subject to the relevant regulations of tobacco advertisements.
The administrative department of tobacco monopoly under the State Council supervises and manages the import and export trade of electronic cigarettes and foreign economic and technological cooperation in accordance with the law.
Electronic cigarette tax collection is implemented in accordance with national tax laws and regulations.
According to the "Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" and its implementation regulations, since the "Decision" is promulgated and implemented, the production and operation activities related to e-cigarettes shall be permitted to enter the market, and the products shall comply with relevant national standards. The import of e-cigarettes It should comply with relevant regulations and other requirements of cigarettes.
However, considering the development and promulgation of e-cigarette management measures and national standards for e-cigarettes, as well as the current state of the e-cigarette industry, a certain transition period has been specially set up.
Liu Peifeng said that during the transition period, the existing electronic cigarette production and operation entities can carry out normal production and operation activities.
At this stage, tobacco monopoly administrative departments at all levels will temporarily not accept applications for licenses and product registrations for the production and retail of electronic cigarette production and operation entities, and will not accept new electronic cigarette retail business licenses for market operators that hold tobacco monopoly retail licenses. Application (the specific acceptance time will be notified separately); the market supervision department will temporarily not issue business licenses for various types of electronic cigarette production and operation entities in accordance with relevant regulations.
At the same time, in order to regulate the market order of the e-cigarette industry, the e-cigarette industry will be smoothly brought into the track of rule of law and standardization, and it will be in line with the newly revised "Implementation Regulations" and the relevant supporting policies under study and formulation. At this stage, various investors It is temporarily prohibited to invest in new electronic cigarette production and operation enterprises; existing electronic cigarette production and operation entities are temporarily not allowed to build or expand production capacity, temporarily cannot establish new electronic cigarette retail outlets and market new products, and suspend the import of new electronic cigarettes.
Liu Peifeng emphasized that after the transition period is over, only electronic cigarette production and operation entities that have obtained access permits and whose products meet national standards can carry out investment, construction, and production and operation activities.
Those who have not obtained access permits, products that do not meet national standards and have not passed registration, etc., are not allowed to engage in e-cigarette-related businesses, otherwise they will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the law.
In recent years, due to regulatory gaps and disorderly development of the electronic cigarette industry, some products have problems such as unclear nicotine (nicotine) content, unknown added ingredients, and e-liquid leakage, which pose potential threats to consumers' health.
Some operators mislead consumers with propaganda that violates objective facts, such as “healthy and harmless”, “help to quit smoking”, or there is no evidence to prove them, and overemphasize e-cigarettes as “fashion” and “trend” to induce minors to smoke and harm the future. Adults are physically and mentally healthy.
All sectors of the society have expressed strong feedback and continue to call for strengthened supervision.
According to statistics, at present, more than 50 countries and regions in the world have included e-cigarettes in the scope of tobacco product control, and more than 40 countries have clearly banned the sale of e-cigarettes. Due to the proliferation of illegal trade after the prohibition, some countries have begun to switch from a total ban on e-cigarettes to Supervise e-cigarettes in accordance with tobacco products.