Chinanews client, Beijing, October 22 (Reporter Zhang Ni) Recently, the topic that mercury thermometers will be banned from production has caused heated discussions among netizens.
According to relevant regulations, starting from January 1, 2026, China will ban the production of mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometers.
Because of its low price and accurate measurement, mercury thermometers have long been a common health item in people's homes.
As soon as the news of the "cut-off order" came out, many netizens got into entanglement: on the one hand, they were really worried about the safety hazards of mercury thermometers.
Screenshot of the State Drug Administration website.
Are the thermometers that accompany generations of people out of print?
Recently, the State Food and Drug Administration issued a notice on matters concerning the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
According to the notice, according to Announcement No. 38 issued by the former Ministry of Environmental Protection in conjunction with relevant ministries and commissions in 2017, the "Minamata Convention on Mercury" entered into force for China on August 16, 2017, which clearly stated that "from January 1, 2026 , Prohibit the production of mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometers."
The notice requires that all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Drug Supervision and Administration Bureau should attach great importance to guiding relevant enterprises in their jurisdictions to do a complete ban on the production of mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometers from January 1, 2026. Effectively fulfill the requirements of the Mercury Convention and Announcement No. 38.
In the past few days, the aforementioned "prohibition of production" concerning mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers has become a hot topic of public opinion.
Many netizens are puzzled. How could the mercury thermometers that have grown up with generations of people been ordered to ban production?
In recent years, safety and pollution issues caused by mercury clinical thermometers have received attention.
(webpage Screenshot)
How many are hidden from the small mercury thermometer?
In fact, when it comes to mercury (mercury), the first thing most people think of is the mercury thermometer in daily life.
According to the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury is a naturally occurring element found in air, water and soil, and is one of the top ten chemicals or chemical categories of major public health concerns.
Mercury (mercury) and its compounds are widely used in the chemical industry, instrumentation, batteries, lighting, medical equipment and other fields.
However, mercury will exist for a long time after it is released into the environment, and it can be transported through the atmosphere over long distances. Bioaccumulation can cause significant adverse effects on human health and the environment.
In addition, mercury is also the cause of Minamata disease.
In order to effectively respond to and properly solve the global mercury pollution problem, in October 2013, the international community reached an agreement on the global legally binding Mercury Convention, and China became the first batch of signatories.
In April 2016, the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress approved the Mercury Convention.
On August 16, 2017, the Convention officially entered into force in China and other contracting parties.
Since August 16, 2017, China has banned the mining of new primary mercury mines, and local land and resources authorities have stopped issuing new mercury mine exploration licenses and mining licenses.
Starting from August 16, 2032, primary mercury mining will be completely banned.
Reports show that China produces a large number of mercury-containing thermometers every year, and the amount of mercury that is treated as waste every year due to broken mercury thermometers is also not small. In people’s daily lives, dangerous incidents caused by broken mercury thermometers are also frequently reported. .
From an international perspective, as early as 1992, Sweden had taken the lead in banning the sale of all mercury-containing medical equipment.
In addition, most countries in Europe and America have completely banned all mercury-related industrial products, including mercury medical equipment.
Data map: The staff of Guangzhou South Railway Station measures the temperature of passengers.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Ji Dong
The "Countdown to Transformation" of Thermometer Companies
Nowadays, mercury clinical thermometers will face a ban on production in China. What about the production and sales of the products now?
In terms of sales, the reporter searched on multiple e-commerce platforms and found that mercury thermometers were on sale normally.
From the price point of view, compared with other electronic thermometers and non-contact infrared thermometers on the market, mercury thermometers have obvious price advantages.
Usually, the retail price of a mercury thermometer ranges from 3 to 10 yuan, while the selling price of products such as electronic thermometers and forehead thermometers is tens or even hundreds of yuan.
In addition, after consulting the staff of many medical institutions in Beijing, the reporter learned that the outpatient and inpatient departments of some hospitals have gradually replaced electronic thermometers, but some hospitals continue to use mercury thermometers normally.
Screenshot of an e-commerce platform.
For enterprises, the "cut-off order" is undoubtedly a "countdown to transformation."
Data from Enterprise Check shows that there are currently 13,700 companies related to thermometers in China. Guangdong Province ranks first with nearly 3,700 companies, and Shandong and Hebei rank second and third respectively.
In the past five years, the annual registration volume of related companies has generally shown a downward trend. In 2019, there were 840 new companies, a year-on-year decrease of 37.1%.
However, in the first three quarters of this year, a total of 1,170 companies related to clinical thermometers were newly registered in China, a year-on-year increase of 88.4%.
Among them, the number of registrations in the second quarter was the largest at 513, and the number of registrations in the third quarter was 181, a decrease of 64.7% from the previous quarter.
According to the notice of the State Food and Drug Administration, for mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometer products that have obtained a medical device registration certificate, the original registration certificate will continue to be valid within the validity period of the certificate; registration can be renewed when the validity period of the registration certificate expires, but the validity period of the registration certificate is limited No more than December 31, 2025.
Mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometer products that have been accepted in accordance with medical devices continue to be reviewed and approved in accordance with medical devices. If registration is approved, a medical device registration certificate shall be issued, and the validity period of the registration certificate shall not exceed December 31, 2025.
From January 1, 2026, the production of mercury-containing thermometers and mercury-containing sphygmomanometers will be completely prohibited.
Electronic thermometer VS mercury thermometer, how do you choose?
There are also many controversies among netizens regarding the discontinuation of mercury thermometers.
Supportive voices believe that mercury-containing thermometers are unsafe, especially for families with children. If the thermometer is accidentally broken, it may cause serious consequences.
Image source: Weibo screenshot
But the voice on the other hand believes that mercury thermometers are accurate and cheap, and mercury thermometers are still the first choice for temperature measurement.
Image source: Weibo screenshot
The reporter found that at present, one of the people's biggest concerns is that after using electronic thermometers in the future, their accuracy is not as good as mercury thermometers.
Many people have obvious low values when they are measured by a thermometer in a public place.
So, what do professionals think about the accuracy of clinical thermometers?
Wang Huijuan, head nurse of the Neurosurgery Emergency Center of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said in an interview with the media that the temperature measured by the traditional mercury thermometer is the most accurate, but it takes a little longer to measure the body temperature and takes more than 5 minutes.
Once the thermometer is broken, the mercury inside will leak out. If it is not handled in time, it will quickly volatilize into the air and endanger human health.
Wang Huijuan said that electronic thermometers are also used clinically to replace traditional clinical thermometers.
Compared with forehead temperature measurement, ear temperature measurement has higher accuracy, but the measurement method needs to be correct, and the ear temperature gun earmuff needs to be used every time, which is more costly for large-area use.
In addition, the forehead temperature measurement data may have deviations, mainly because the human body surface temperature is relatively low, and the temperature of the external environment is relatively large, but the forehead temperature gun is convenient and fast. It is suitable for kindergartens, airports, railway stations, etc. There is a large flow of people and places where fever patients need to be screened quickly.
However, even so, many people who are accustomed to mercury thermometers said that even if there is a "prohibition order", they must always keep a mercury thermometer in their homes.
Mercury thermometer VS electronic thermometer
How do you choose?