Expert advice how to let e-cigarette bid farewell to barbaric growth
Interlocutor
Jiang Yuan, Vice President of China Tobacco Control Association
Zhang Jianshu, President of Beijing Tobacco Control Association
"Legal Daily" reporter Zhao Li
"Legal Daily" intern Zhao Xinyi
Reporter: Nowadays, e-cigarettes have not only entered shopping malls, KTVs, bars and other places, but also occupied the propaganda territory of Moments, Weibo and online advertising.
The “Report on the Regulatory Status of the Electronic Cigarette Industry” (2019) recently released by the Public Health and Technology Supervision Research Group of Tsinghua University reveals that 95% of the marketing techniques of e-cigarette retail websites connect e-cigarettes with health and cleanliness. At the same time, 89% of online stores will promote health-related benefits.
Jiang Yuan: Although e-cigarettes are low-harm but not safe, they should not be sold to minors, and online sales should be prohibited.
At present, Hangzhou and Shenzhen are doing better. These cities expressly prohibit smoking e-cigarettes in non-smoking places.
The regulation of e-cigarettes is now blank.
Zhang Jianshu: The advertising of e-cigarettes is now flooded. Zero pollution and no harm are all exaggerated. In fact, scientific research has proved that the second-hand aerosols emitted by e-cigarettes contain many harmful compounds, such as glycerol, formaldehyde, Heavy metals, etc., are even more harmful than traditional cigarettes, so we think it is unsafe. This kind of publicity is deceptive.
Reporter: The most worrying thing is that it is not that smokers who cannot quit smoking switch from traditional tobacco to e-cigarettes, but that people who are not smokers, especially young people, are selling novelty, harmlessness and fashion. Become an "e-smoker" under marketing promotion.
Jiang Yuan: According to official statistics, Chinese e-cigarettes account for 0.9% of the total population. This rate sounds lower than that of European and American countries, but the base of China’s population is large, which is equivalent to tens of millions of people smoking e-cigarettes. It may be the largest market in the world.
In addition, the growth trend is very fast, more and more people have heard of it, and more and more people are trying to use it.
Zhang Jianshu: The cool, fashionable, aromatic and other elements in many e-cigarette advertisements are particularly attractive to young people. You can see e-cigarette advertisements on the Internet and even on concerts. There are also e-cigarette experiences in shopping malls. Stores should supervise e-cigarettes as soon as possible.
Reporter: my country's supervision of electronic cigarettes is gradually advancing.
Some places have begun to make clear definitions of e-cigarettes and include them in the category of "tobacco products".
On October 1, the newly revised "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Smoking Control Regulations" came into effect, which clearly defined e-cigarettes as vaporizing and delivering a mixture of nicotine (or nicotine-free), propylene glycol and other chemical substances to the lungs of users. A device belonging to tobacco products.
Zhang Jianshu: The state should issue regulatory documents to monitor e-cigarettes as soon as possible, because first, the production of e-cigarettes is particularly chaotic. Without a unified standard, the substances produced are not marked with anything, which is very dangerous.
There has been a serious e-cigarette damage incident in the United States recently. Many people have acute lung injury. This incident should arouse our attention.
The supervision of e-cigarettes, first in the production process, and then in sales, advertising, and promotional methods, should be strictly controlled.
Reporter: Someone suggested that if the main body of e-cigarette supervision is to include e-cigarettes in the supervision of cigarette products, then according to the current tobacco product supervision system, only the China National Tobacco Corporation can produce and sell, and a large number of e-cigarette companies will lose production. And the right to sell.
What do you think of this game?
How to effectively incorporate it into the regulatory system?
Zhang Jianshu: This is also the reason why I think e-cigarettes should be included in tobacco management. If this is done, the laws and regulations on traditional cigarettes now apply to e-cigarettes.
For example, tobacco is not allowed to be advertised on the Internet. If e-cigarettes are included in tobacco control, it will naturally not be allowed to advertise and sell on the Internet, and outdoor advertising is not allowed, and smoking is not allowed in indoor environments in public places, etc. , Which also has a protective effect on young people.
In this way, all existing tobacco regulations can be applied, and electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes are treated the same.
From the perspective of the supervisory body, it should be supervised by the health authorities and the market supervision and management department.
But in terms of feasibility, it is okay to hand it over to the tobacco monopoly department when no one has the energy and ability to manage it.
As far as I know, the control of tobacco by the Health Commission is not as systematic as tobacco monopoly. It must be supported by powerful technical equipment.
In general, it’s better to be supervised than no one.
Reporter: Many people in the industry are relatively optimistic about the direction of regulatory policies. They believe that the quality control of e-liquid and the prevention of minors’ exposure to e-cigarettes rely on market regulations and supervision. They hope that national standards will come out as soon as possible. Standards measure whether the products on the market meet the specifications, and some products that do not meet the specifications will be eliminated by the market.
Zhang Jianshu: I have also had discussions with the manufacturers of e-cigarettes. They also said that the current chaotic state is abnormal. It is an early phenomenon. The need for supervision is affirmative. They think it is a good thing. If there is a standard, follow the standard. do.
It is normal for a group of manufacturers to die. It is impossible for any subject to produce e-cigarettes casually. There are too many manufacturers and too chaotic.
It is better to have a standard than no standard. For manufacturers, if there is a standard standard, then follow this direction to produce.
Complete prohibition is unrealistic, and management should be strengthened.