At present, e-cigarettes are quietly emerging in our country and are sought after by many consumers, especially teenagers.
However, in order to induce more young people to try the "first puff", some e-cigarette companies not only advertised that e-cigarettes are "harmless" and "help quit smoking" in marketing, they blindly promoted falsely, and they also introduced fruit flavors, mint flavors, and milk tea flavors. Such novel products, under the guise of fashion and popularity, have caused chaos in the e-cigarette market.
In order to further strengthen the supervision of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration have studied and drafted the "Decision on Amending the Implementation Regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" (soliciting comments) Draft)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Draft for Solicitation of Comments”), and publicly solicited opinions from the public on March 22.
The draft for comments proposes to add an article to the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China": "E-cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations on cigarettes in these regulations."
What impact will the e-cigarette industry put on the regulatory "tightening curse"?
How to better regulate the development of the electronic cigarette industry in the future?
This reporter interviewed relevant experts.
The market is mixed, it's time to take care of it
Xiaoyuan born after 00 who works in a supermarket in Shandong, usually likes to hang her electronic cigarette around her neck and smokes two mouthfuls from time to time.
"I have been smoking e-cigarettes for more than a year, and I love the strawberry flavored one. I saw some friends smoking it before, and it was quite trendy. I heard that it was not harmful, so I started smoking it." Xiaoyuan said.
According to Xiaoyuan, e-cigarettes are very common in her circle. Many of her friends are "fans" of e-cigarettes. People will give them as gifts during holidays and birthdays.
Not only young working people, some students also use e-cigarettes.
Statistics from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020 show that the use of e-cigarettes among junior high school students in my country has increased significantly.
Is the increasingly popular e-cigarette really as harmless as described in the advertisement?
Industry experts believe that most e-cigarettes are nicotine delivery systems. If young people become nicotine dependents through e-cigarettes, they will be more likely to become consumers of traditional cigarettes in the future.
Long-term use of e-cigarettes containing nicotine may increase the risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and other related diseases.
In addition, many electronic cigarettes currently circulating on the market still have quality and safety hazards such as the addition of unsafe ingredients and the leakage of e-liquid.
From the perspective of industry development, in recent years, the e-cigarette industry has attracted many companies into the game.
New types of tobacco products such as e-cigarettes also have some new situations and new problems in the field of market supervision, which have aroused widespread concern in the society.
Some netizens said that now the e-cigarette market is mixed and it is time to control it.
Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China Law School and director of the Institute of Commercial Law, believes that for a long time, the e-cigarette industry, including production, wholesale, sales, advertising, etc., has been free from the "Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China". It is outside the scope of the Regulations, and many consumers are misled into thinking that "e-cigarettes are not cigarettes, and there is no nicotine in them", "e-cigarettes are harmless or low-hazardous", "e-cigarettes are helpful to quit smoking" and so on.
The draft for soliciting comments is to fill in legal loopholes and eliminate blind spots in supervision. This is an important milestone in advancing the rule of law in tobacco supervision.
Not discrimination, but love, which is conducive to the healthy development of the industry
The "Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" has been revised twice in 2013 and 2016 since its promulgation on July 3, 1997, in terms of improving the quality of tobacco products, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and ensuring national fiscal revenues. It played an important role.
So, what impact will this modification bring?
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration stated in the explanatory notes that new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes will be implemented with reference to the relevant regulations on cigarettes in the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China", which will greatly enhance the electronic The effectiveness of cigarette supervision, effectively regulates electronic cigarette production and operation activities, solves the problems of electronic cigarettes such as product quality and safety risks and false advertisements, and effectively protects the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Liu Junhai believes that the supervision of e-cigarettes with reference to cigarettes will help consumers change their past misconceptions about e-cigarettes and make it clear that “e-cigarettes are also cigarettes”; for the e-cigarette industry, it should be fully integrated into the rule of law, transparent and rational. , The development track of integrity is not discrimination, but care, which is conducive to the healthy development of the industry; for the traditional tobacco industry, this means fair competition; for the industrial ecology, the integrated supervision of e-cigarettes and traditional tobacco, one A smooth bowl of water will help create a fair and just market environment.
According to analysis by industry insiders, traditional tobacco is a typical heavy-tax industry, and electronic cigarettes have always been subject to relatively low tax rates for ordinary consumer goods because they have not been clearly positioned before.
E-cigarette supervision refers to cigarettes, which means that in the future, e-cigarette companies may face the same high tax rates as traditional tobacco.
Let it "surface" and strictly supervise it
In the future, how should we better regulate the development of the e-cigarette industry?
"The market will fail, and supervision should not fail." Liu Junhai said that the e-cigarette industry should not be "smashed to death" with a single stick, but should be "surfaced" and strictly supervised.
When the e-cigarette industry cannot be cautious and independent, regulators must brave the punch, make good use of administrative penalties and other powers in accordance with the law, take a clear-cut approach to crack down on various unfair competition and transaction behaviors, and optimize the ecological environment of the e-cigarette market.
Liu Junhai suggested that relevant departments should form a combined regulatory force, eliminate regulatory blind spots, and create a 24-hour, 360-degree, all-round regulatory cooperation mechanism, so as to better protect the rights and interests of consumers, promote the sustainable development of the e-cigarette industry, and promote the traditional tobacco industry and The e-cigarette industry has fair competition.
Liu Junhai said that e-cigarette companies should follow the general trend, establish a belief in the law and awe of risks, consciously abide by relevant laws and regulations, regulate their own business behaviors, and proactively remind consumers that "smoking is harmful to health", and truly do When it comes to choosing the good, the majority of consumers must also be soberly aware of the harm of e-cigarettes, be rational, scientific, and civilized consumers, be optimistic about money bags, and protect their rights rationally in accordance with the law.
(Reporter Liu Kun)