E-cigarettes are sold secretly in the form of milk tea cups and Coke cans. Why are they repeatedly banned?

【People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau】

　　Editor's note:

　　This is the People's Livelihood Investigation Bureau, which investigates changes in people's livelihood by seeing what no one else has seen.

Pay attention to what you want to pay attention to and what you don't pay attention to, investigate what you want to see and what you haven't seen.

　　China News Service, February 20th (China News Finance reporter Wu Tao) E-cigarettes have been controversial since their inception. After online sales were banned, e-cigarettes turned out to be "milk tea cups", "coke cans" and other daily necessities. Shells, secretly for sale.

What are the dangers of these fake and shoddy e-cigarettes?

Why do online sales channels emerge in endlessly and be banned repeatedly?

The disguise is diverse, it looks like a drink is actually an electronic cigarette

　　Is it easy to buy e-cigarettes online?

Recently, the reporter found in the survey that almost all mainstream e-commerce platforms have banned the sale of e-cigarettes, but on some social platforms, as long as the search keywords are slightly modified, search for "milk tea cup" and "starry sky cup" , you will find a variety of sales channels, and some social platforms even have article sharing sales channels that are updated every day.

　　According to a shared tip, the reporter added a seller of "milk tea cups" on WeChat. The sample pictures provided by the merchants show that in addition to "milk tea cups" and "coke cans", some flavored e-cigarettes are also called "magic fairy sticks" and "cute tiger cups". ""Star Cup", "Star Cup" and so on, each priced from 60 yuan to more than 100 yuan.

Various flavors of e-cigarettes displayed by merchants.

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　　Judging from the appearance, these "milk tea cups" and "star cups" are very deceptive. Some look like a bottle of trendy drinks, some look like a bottle of mineral water, and some are made into cute tigers and cute rabbits. And other toy shape.

However, they all have a common feature, there is no information about the manufacturer, and some of them will label the nicotine content of 3%.

　　How does such a "milk tea cup" complete the transaction?

　　The merchant told reporters that it supports personal transfers, and the selected "milk tea cup" is sent together with the delivery address, and then the merchant arranges delivery and supports anonymous orders.

Both physical hazard and risk of being cheated

　　The "E-cigarette Management Measures" that will come into effect on May 1, 2022 clearly

.

E-cigarettes are transformed into various toy shapes.

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　　So these so-called "ice melon", "peach soda", "coconut latte", "glacier spring water" and other "milk tea cups" of various flavors are all flavored e-cigarettes, which are naturally illegal, let alone selling them online.

　　The "E-cigarette Management Measures" also stipulates that no individual, legal person or other organization shall sell e-cigarette products, atomizers, and nicotine for e-cigarettes through information networks other than the e-cigarette transaction management platform specified in these measures.

This means that even big brand e-cigarettes cannot be sold online.

　　E-cigarettes are inherently harmful to the body, and the flavorings in them are even more so.

　　Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, once introduced that the flavorings in electronic cigarettes are generally chemically synthesized and cannot be absorbed like food-grade products. Once inhaled, the chemical components in the smoke will directly enter the human body through breathing, and then enter the human body. blood, causing harm to the human body.

　　In addition, in the transaction process, the reporter noticed that many merchants do not support cash on delivery, especially for unfamiliar buyers, they need to transfer money first and then deliver the goods. In this regard, consumers also have the risk of being deceived.

Repeatedly banned, some merchants said "support wholesale"

　　The reason why e-cigarettes disguised as "milk tea cups" have been banned repeatedly is largely due to the huge profits behind them.

　　According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on February 9, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has recently carried out the rectification of flavored e-cigarettes such as "milk tea cups" and "coke cans". 188 people were sentenced, and 723,800 "milk tea cups" and "coke cans" were seized, involving a total amount of 507 million yuan.

　　Some analysts say that these counterfeit e-cigarettes have low production costs and wide and scattered sales channels. As mentioned above, many merchants sell through WeChat businesses and individuals add WeChat. completely wiped out.

The merchant said that the courier company does not check.

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　　In addition, the reporter also found in the investigation that there are regulatory loopholes in express delivery in the sales process.

The reporter asked a merchant whether the courier checked the mailed items when they mailed them?

The merchant replied: There is cooperation, but will not check.

　　In fact, in November 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Post Bureau issued a circular stipulating that the delivery limit of e-liquid and other atomized products and nicotine for electronic cigarettes is limited to 12ml per piece.

However, the reporter's investigation found that most "milk tea cups" have a large capacity of 15 milliliters. In this regard, mailing "milk tea cups" is obviously not in compliance.

　　In addition, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Post Bureau also stipulate that delivery of smoking sets, electronic cigarette cartridges (liquid atomized substances), products sold in combination with smoke cartridges and smoking sets (including disposable electronic cigarettes, etc.), smoke liquid and other atomized substances, electronic cigarettes, etc. With nicotine, each person is limited to one piece per day, and multiple pieces are not allowed.

　　However, merchants send mail frequently, and the courier company has not fulfilled its responsibility for inspection.

During the investigation, some merchants even told reporters that they support wholesale.

　　Obviously, rectifying online sales of e-cigarettes requires the concerted efforts of multiple parties. In addition to crackdowns by relevant departments, consumers should also try to reduce smoking for the sake of health and report illegal sales in a timely manner.

Social platforms and courier companies should also assume their respective responsibilities.

Multi-party participation may be the only way to fundamentally solve this problem.

(over)