China News Service, Beijing, April 22 (Reporter Du Yan) Are e-cigarettes considered tobacco?

Who should supervise e-cigarettes to protect people's health?

… Electronic cigarettes, which have been controversial in recent years, have aroused heated discussion recently because of the Beijing Municipal Smoking Control Association’s objection to "implementing electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products with reference to the relevant regulations on cigarettes in this Regulation."

  The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued the "Decision on Amending the Implementation Regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)" on March 22 this year, and will solicit public opinions before April 22.

The draft for comments puts forward content such as "enhancing the effectiveness of e-cigarette supervision" and "implementing new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes with reference to the relevant regulations on cigarettes in these regulations."

This means that new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes may be formally "incorporated into the law" and regulated with reference to traditional cigarettes.

Proposal to strengthen electronic cigarette supervision

  "The association has formally submitted relevant opinions and suggestions on the draft, and clearly opposes the above-mentioned proposals in the draft." Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Smoking Control Association, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency on the 22nd. The colorful and diverse tastes Electronic cigarettes, with a sense of technology and fashion, are "cool" appearances, and are sought after by many people, especially young people. "But electronic cigarettes are undoubtedly harmful, and there is no sufficient evidence that electronic cigarettes help quit smoking."

  At present, there is no uniform definition of whether electronic cigarettes are tobacco or electronic products.

  However, according to industry insiders, there are currently three main categories of electronic cigarettes: heat-not-burn tobacco products, electronic atomization systems that contain nicotine, and electronic atomization systems that do not contain nicotine.

  Zhang Jianshu pointed out that the current lack of e-cigarette production standards and regulatory standards in the country has caused chaos in the e-cigarette market.

There is no shortage of companies that "fish eyes mixed beads", the outer package is marked with 3 mg of nicotine content, but the actual maximum can reach about 20 mg, "If it is inhaled in one time, it may be life-threatening."

In addition, some companies add various fragrances in the production process of e-cigarettes, which will also affect human health.

  Should I manage?

tube.

Zhang Jianshu said that in November 2019, the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from E-cigarettes" was released, which "contained" the online sales channels of e-cigarettes from the policy level, which was called the "e-cigarette online sales ban". To a certain extent, the fast-developing e-cigarette industry "slams on the brakes".

However, with many e-cigarette sales channels and low thresholds, supervision of the chaos of e-cigarettes should be strengthened.

Recommendations should not be included in tobacco monopoly supervision

  "It should not be included in the supervision of tobacco monopoly." Zhang Jianshu emphasized that the supervision of e-cigarettes should be supervised by the health and health department, the food and drug regulatory department or the market supervision bureau. "Unless the national tobacco monopoly system is separated from government and enterprise, the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau is serious Only when it assumes the function of tobacco control, and when the sales of cigarettes to teenagers are carefully enforced and supervised and punished, the question of the ownership of e-cigarette supervision can be considered."

  He also stated that, in accordance with the implementation guidelines of Article 5, point 3 of the "WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control" signed by China in 2003, "When formulating and implementing public health policies on tobacco control, all parties shall comply with national laws. Take action to prevent these policies from being affected by the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.” Therefore, the regulation of the tobacco industry is not in line with the Chinese government’s commitment to the international community.

  The opinions submitted by the Beijing Tobacco Control Association mentioned minors many times, such as "prohibition of marketing to non-smokers, pregnant women and adolescents", "prohibition of sales and distribution to minors, and prohibition of minors from using electronic cigarettes."

In this regard, Zhang Jianshu mentioned that the current global prevalence of e-cigarettes has attracted great attention from governments of various countries, and the proportion of young people who smoke e-cigarettes is increasing.

  According to data from the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use rate of e-cigarettes for high school students in China in 2019 was 3.0%, and the use rate of e-cigarettes for junior high school students was 2.7%.

Therefore, he drew the attention of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration to the newly revised "Law on the Protection of Minors of the People's Republic of China" which will be implemented on June 1, 2021. This is the first time that a national law explicitly prohibits sales to minors. E-cigarettes, he hopes that relevant departments "use practical actions to protect the next generation of the motherland."

It is recommended that e-cigarettes be included in the scope of Beijing tobacco control

  Whether e-cigarettes should be banned in public is also controversial.

At present, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and many other places have included e-cigarettes in the scope of tobacco control.

  On June 1, 2015, the Beijing Municipal Smoking Control Regulations, known as the “most stringent tobacco control regulation in history,” was officially implemented, stipulating that “no smoking is allowed in places with roofs” and offenders will be fined.

However, electronic cigarettes are not involved in the regulations.

  In response, Zhang Jianshu said that when Beijing revised the regulations, the smoking rate of e-cigarettes among the Beijing population was low.

Among the suggestions put forward in response to the draft for comments this time include prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in indoor public places, indoor workplaces and transportation and other non-smoking places, and prohibiting unproven health claims about e-cigarettes.

  "The association is also actively promoting the relevant departments to carry out the legislative interpretation of Beijing's tobacco control regulations, and promote the inclusion of e-cigarettes in the scope of Beijing's tobacco control." Zhang Jianshu said.

(Finish)