"Smoking cessation protective cover", "electronic cigarette charger", "electronic atomization"... The repeated online transactions of electronic cigarettes are harming the health of minors.

　　A few days ago, surging news reporters found that there are merchants selling electronic cigarettes on major e-commerce and social platforms, and the methods are concealed, using various words or video pictures to avoid censorship.

　　On October 30, 2019, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from Electronic Cigarettes", which clearly stated that electronic cigarettes should not be sold to minors, and that minors should be prevented from purchasing through the Internet. And smoking electronic cigarettes, electronic cigarette shops, sales websites, etc. should be closed in time.

　　The "Measures for the Administration of Electronic Cigarettes (Draft for Comment)" announced in December 2021 also clarified that ordinary primary and secondary schools, special education schools, secondary vocational schools, specialized schools, and kindergartens are not allowed to set up electronic cigarette product sales outlets.

The sale of vaping products to minors is prohibited.

From e-commerce to WeChat transactions, "age threshold" has become a decoration

　　"Is it the buyer? Add your WeChat, and the WeChat will be specific."

　　In a store on Pinduoduo, a surging journalist opened a product marked "electronic cigarette cartridge box" and asked the customer service if there were electronic cigarettes for sale.

　　After the reporter placed the order, he immediately received a call. After confirming the identity of the reporter, the other party asked not to talk in the chat window of the e-commerce platform, but to add WeChat communication.

　　Open the store owner's circle of friends, all are the sales information of various types of electronic cigarettes.

Immediately, he sent reporters a series of videos and pictures of electronic cigarettes, saying: "Screenshot inquiry."

　　The customer service said "Add WeChat communication", and the circle of friends is all electronic cigarette sales information

　　The surging journalists found that searching for "electronic cigarette" on the e-commerce platform will pop up a "green net plan" prompt, indicating that the law stipulates that tobacco monopoly products are not allowed to be sold through the information network.

However, similar keywords will not be regulated. Searching for "RELX 5th generation", "smoking cessation set", "dzy", "electronic atomization", etc., a large number of shops selling electronic cigarettes will pop up.

　　Compared with e-commerce, transactions on some social platforms appear bolder.

Taking Soul as an example, the reporter searched for "electronic cigarettes" in the chat box and found that a large number of users with "electronic cigarettes" as IDs publicly sold electronic cigarettes on their personal homepages.

According to the search records, the reporter also joined 5-6 group chats named after electronic cigarettes, and the group mainly exchanged specific information about the online transaction of electronic cigarettes.

　　E-cigarette trading group on Soul

　　At the same time, the reporter found relevant information on the sales of electronic cigarettes on multiple social platforms such as Tantan, Hupu, Douban, etc., and all of them clearly indicated that there was sales of electronic cigarettes on their personal homepages.

　　All e-cigarette sellers on Douban have WeChat/QR codes on their homepages

　　Electronic cigarette sellers on Hupu

　　E-cigarette sellers on Tantan

　　Whether it is an e-commerce or a social platform, a common feature is that the platform is the source of traffic, and the final transaction method is still carried out through "adding WeChat".

An e-cigarette seller on Soul told reporters that this is because many platforms regulate payment codes, and payment can only be realized through WeChat transfers.

　　It is worth noting that the original intention of the "online sales ban" of electronic cigarettes was mainly to protect the rights and interests of minors, but when a reporter pretended to be a buyer for consultation, the "age threshold" was useless.

None of the sellers asked the reporter's age, and even when the reporter directly told several sellers that they were under 18, the other party did not refuse to sell, but laughed: "Pretend not to see it."

　　The reporter said that he was under 18 years old, and the seller said "I didn't see it"

　　Some sellers even suggested that reporters can take advantage of their age to sell electronic cigarettes to classmates through online purchases during school: "It's very easy to sell."

Online e-cigarette transactions are "gang-like", with a membership fee of 200 yuan

　　It is worth noting that today's e-cigarette online transactions are characterized by teamwork and scale compared to scattered individual sellers.

　　In the electronic cigarette exchange group, the reporter said: "I also want to do this business, is anyone willing to take me?" Many sellers sent private letters to reporters, all expressing their willingness to accept "membership", but the premise is to pay a membership fee of 200 yuan .

　　"The membership fee is not given to me, but to the person above." The seller "Xiao Hu" (pseudonym) said.

After paying the membership fee, the reporter can buy goods from Xiaohu. As for how much money can be earned, "all depends on your ability."

　　E-cigarette online trading has formed a team

　　Xiaohu "Guide" said that in addition to selling offline to acquaintances, online sales are also an important channel. For example, platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou can quietly sell electronic cigarettes.

"Tiktok hold tight, I was recently banned, and I recommend Kuaishou."

　　The way to escape the censorship is not to mention the words "electronic cigarette" in the copy and personal introduction, but to express it in the form of videos, pictures, etc., and then he sent a large number of small videos of electronic cigarettes to reporters for reference.

"These are lessons learned from multiple experiments in the team."

　　Sellers say online selling has 'skills'

　　The surging news reporters inquired about Douyin and Kuaishou. It is indeed difficult to find traces of e-cigarette sales through keyword searches. However, in the comment area of ​​some e-cigarette-related videos, there are a large number of public online transactions, and many sellers will ask "Do you want to buy it?" "I have goods here" and "fidelity", and when you click on the seller's homepage, there is often no text introduction, only a WeChat account, or only a video.

　　Electronic cigarette transactions in the comment area of ​​the short video platform

　　Xiao Hu said that there is a clear underground network for e-cigarette sales. Through the chairman, and then to the lower level, the level is progressive, and each level will earn the difference in price, and finally reach the consumer.

However, there is no contact between the teams, only the purchaser and the shipper have contact, and he does not know who the chairman is, but some public information will be circulated among the members.

　　He showed the reporter a quotation for the purchase of electronic cigarettes: taking the YOOZ Zero second-generation series as an example, the purchase price of a single rod is 130 yuan, and the official price ranges from 248 yuan to 278 yuan; the RELX fifth-generation series, the purchase price is 150 yuan per shot, the official price is 268 yuan.

The specific shipping price can be decided by oneself, but generally more than 200 yuan.

The "purchase price" of the electronic cigarette presented by the seller

E-cigarette "banning order" is difficult to implement: digital or tobacco products, no clear definition

　　At the regulatory level, the state has been strictly controlling and strictly grasping the illegal trade of electronic cigarettes.

Since 2018, the state has introduced a series of regulatory measures for the electronic cigarette industry, including the prohibition of online sales of electronic cigarettes.

　　On December 2 last year, according to the information on the website of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, in accordance with the newly revised "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China", the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration researched and drafted the "Measures for the Administration of Electronic Cigarettes (Draft for Comment)" (referred to as "Administrative Measures"), and openly solicit opinions from the public.

　　Among them, Article 6 of the "Administrative Measures" clearly states that a registration system shall be implemented for electronic cigarette products.

Electronic cigarette products should be registered with the tobacco monopoly administrative department before they are marketed in China.

In addition, the "Administrative Measures" also mentioned that a unified national e-cigarette transaction management platform is planned to be established.

　　Despite the "heavy blow" of supervision, why is the online sales of electronic cigarettes still banned repeatedly?

Ji Ligang, a professor at the Law School of Fudan University and a lawyer at Shanghai Siwei Lema Law Firm, told The Paper that there are multiple reasons for the difficulty in enforcing the e-cigarette online ban.

First of all, there are different understandings of relevant bans, resulting in misinterpretation by market players.

This requires relevant departments to further clarify what is "electronic cigarette" and the specific operational requirements for removing "electronic cigarette" products.

　　Whether the attributes of electronic cigarettes are digital products or tobacco products has not yet been clearly defined.

Some businesses claim that they are selling digital products.

Electronic cigarette products are composed of "smoking sets" and "pods". As long as pods are not sold, it seems to be separated from electronic cigarettes.

At present, the national industry standard on how to define what is an electronic cigarette has not yet been issued, and relevant departments are still actively conducting relevant research and demonstrations to promote the introduction of management measures and methods to regulate and guide the orderly development of the electronic cigarette industry.

However, it must be clear that the country has not yet issued standards and specifications for e-cigarettes, and it cannot be an opportunity for businesses to play side balls.

　　Second, the society has insufficient awareness of the harm of electronic cigarette products.

The "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from Electronic Cigarettes" pointed out that electronic cigarettes, as a supplement to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes, have their own safety and health risks. Quality control and other aspects are highly arbitrary, and some products have potential quality and safety hazards such as e-liquid leakage, inferior batteries, and unsafe ingredients.

　　Electronic cigarettes are regarded as a substitute for cigarettes, and many regions have introduced tobacco control regulations, but electronic cigarette products are not among them.

In October last year, Shenzhen included e-cigarettes in the scope of tobacco control regulations for the first time. E-cigarettes are treated the same as traditional cigarettes, and there are new practices in the regulation and supervision of e-cigarettes.

　　Third, the legal liability for banning the sale of electronic cigarettes is not clearly defined, and the "Notice" does not clearly stipulate the platform's responsibility, which is still a soft constraint in nature.

Lawyer: Platforms that have not removed e-cigarettes from the shelves should be held responsible

　　Platforms like Taobao, WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, etc., what kind of responsibilities do they need to take for illegal sales of electronic cigarettes?

The surging journalists interviewed a number of lawyers, all of whom said that the sales platform that has not fulfilled the obligation to monitor, discourage and stop minors from purchasing e-cigarettes should bear the corresponding legal responsibility.

Xia Hailong, a lawyer from Shenlun Law Firm, believes that the platform is obliged to review the various business qualifications of merchants, and should not put on the shelves for products that do not meet the business scope, or if a merchant is found to be operating illegally, it should take measures such as removing it from the shelves in a timely manner.

　　"Hidden sales can generally avoid the platform's review, but the platform should also take the initiative to clean up illegal content through inspections and other methods, or provide convenient complaint channels, and promptly deal with complaints after receiving them."

　　He mentioned that how to take responsibility depends on different platform entities: taking e-commerce as an example, if the e-commerce platform fails to perform its qualification verification obligations to the merchant or fails to deal with the illegal business behavior in a timely manner, the relevant competent department will order it to correct within a time limit; Those who do not make corrections shall be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification, and a fine of not less than 100,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed.

　　For the content suspected of illegal operation posted by some users on the short video platform, relevant regulations such as the "Regulations on the Ecological Governance of Network Information Content" can be applied to supervise. If the platform fails to perform its obligations, it may be interviewed and warned by the network information department, and ordered to make corrections within a time limit. .

　　It is worth noting that there is currently no unified legal recognition for the transaction of electronic cigarettes on WeChat or the sale of electronic cigarettes in the circle of friends.

"The circle of friends is quite special. Compared with short video platforms, the circle of friends is relatively private space, not a platform, so WeChat cannot directly interfere with the content of the circle of friends." Xia Hailong said that if users publish and sell in the circle of friends for a long time and in large numbers Information, in the event of a dispute, is likely to be considered to belong to the operator, but it must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

　　In November 2021, in order to strengthen the supervision of new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes, the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" was revised, and an article was added as Article 65: "Electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products refer to these regulations. The regulations are enforced." But so far, the regulatory rules for electronic cigarettes have not been issued.

　　Ji Ligang suggested that in the future, the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" should be properly linked with industry standards and industry rules, establish a reasonable industry access mechanism, build a perfect product quality system and a minor protection mechanism, and promote the electronic cigarette industry. normative development.