The e-cigarette industry is expected to bid farewell to barbaric growth The
implementation regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law will revise e-cigarettes or usher in strong supervision
● In recent years, the scale of my country's e-cigarette market has expanded rapidly. However, due to the lack of effective supervision, e-cigarettes have exposed a series of problems while developing at a high speed, which has aroused social concern
● The "Decision on Amending the Implementation Regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" (draft for comments) recently issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposes that new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes shall be implemented with reference to the relevant regulations on cigarettes in the implementation regulations
● The legal supervision of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes in accordance with tobacco standards can effectively solve the problems that cannot be followed by supervision and law enforcement, which is conducive to clarifying the supervisory body and supervision standards of e-cigarettes, thereby promoting the legalization of e-cigarette supervision
□ The reporter's trainee reporter Zhang Shoukun
□ reporter Wang Yang
In recent years, the scale of China's e-cigarette market has expanded dramatically.
According to iiMedia Consulting's data, the size of China's e-cigarette market in 2013 was 550 million yuan, and the market size increased to 8.38 billion yuan in 2020, with an 8-year compound annual growth rate of 72.5%, and it is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan in 2021.
Due to the lack of effective supervision, the rapid development of e-cigarettes has also exposed a series of problems, which has aroused social concern.
For example, e-cigarettes are not as "healthy and harmless" as some people think. E-cigarettes are chaotic in terms of production and operation, advertising, etc., and the people who smoke e-cigarettes show a trend of younger age, and so on.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicited opinions on the "Decision on Amending the Implementation Regulations of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for Soliciting Comments)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Soliciting Comments").
The "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" proposes that new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes shall be implemented with reference to the relevant regulations on cigarettes in the Implementing Regulations.
Experts interviewed by a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" believe that in the short term, the "Draft for Comments" will have a certain impact on the e-cigarette industry, but in the long run it will help protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and guide the health of the entire e-cigarette industry. development of.
E-cigarette has invaded campus
The smoking population is younger
Recently, Li Ming (a pseudonym), a first-year high school student in a middle school in Suzhou, Anhui, and a few classmates had a "new fun"-smoking e-cigarettes.
During the interview, Li Ming told the reporter of the Rule of Law Daily that some of the reasons why they smoked e-cigarettes were because of curiosity, and some started smoking in junior high school. I heard that e-cigarettes can quit smoking, but the effect is not obvious after smoking for a period of time.
In terms of taste, some people feel that smoking is more irritating to the throat, and some people feel that it is worse than real cigarettes, but they all feel that e-cigarettes are much less harmful than ordinary tobacco.
There are many people who have similar ideas. According to Amy Consulting data, more than half of users believe that e-cigarettes can ease their dependence on nicotine.
So, can e-cigarettes really help quit smoking?
It is understood that e-cigarettes are different from traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette products are often exquisitely designed without the process of burning shredded tobacco. Special tobacco or atomized e-liquid is added through a rechargeable heating device to produce smoke containing nicotine and other chemical substances. For the user to inhale.
Merchants often attract consumers with marketing slogans such as "remove tar, no burden on the body", "no carbon monoxide", "no heavy metals", and "replace real smoke", and design a variety of flavors such as original flavor, fruit flavor, and chocolate flavor.
The World Health Organization's latest "Global Tobacco Epidemic Report 2019" pointed out that the "electronic nicotine delivery system" still poses health risks to smokers and those around them.
The smoke produced by electronic cigarettes is not "water vapor" as claimed by some manufacturers. It not only contains nicotine, but also other harmful substances. The long-term effects on health are not clear.
Moreover, there is insufficient evidence that such products help people quit traditional cigarettes.
Director Zhang, the dean of Li Ming’s grade, told a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that some students have started to smoke e-cigarettes at school since the past two years, especially the number of students in the third and third grades of junior high school. He has seen it several times. A few of the e-cigarettes have been confiscated by the students.
Director Zhang said that although the state stipulates that e-cigarettes cannot be sold to minors both online and offline, some students can still purchase them through purchasing agents.
At the same time, compared with cigarettes, e-cigarettes are easier to hide and carry, so it is very difficult for schools to supervise them.
According to the "E-cigarette Use in Adults in China: 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 Multiple Horizontal Survey Results" released by the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use rate of e-cigarettes among Chinese adults rose from 1.3% to 1.6 from 2015 to 2019. %, male users account for about 97%.
At the same time, the proportion of young people exposed to e-cigarettes is also increasing.
The results of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2019 middle school student tobacco survey show that the proportion of Chinese middle school students who have heard of e-cigarettes and are using e-cigarettes has increased significantly in the past five years.
At the beginning of 2019, the proportion of middle school students who had heard of e-cigarettes was 69.9%, and the use rate of e-cigarettes was 2.7%, an increase of 24.9% and 1.5% respectively compared with 2014.
Teacher Xue from a middle school in Suzhou City told the reporter of Rule of Law Daily that according to her knowledge and observation, although the number of students smoking e-cigarettes is not large, there are basically one or two in each class, and there are also girls joining.
In addition, teachers from schools in Jiangsu, Tianjin, Beijing and other places also reported to reporters from the Rule of Law Daily that there are cases of students smoking e-cigarettes on middle school campuses, and some students or social figures sell to students through channels such as Moments. Electronic cigarette products.
Ren Chao, a professor and doctoral supervisor of East China University of Political Science and Law, believes that according to the "Notice on Prohibiting the Sale of Electronic Cigarettes to Minors", "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from Electronic Cigarettes" and other related notices, as well as the protection of minors According to relevant laws and regulations, it is illegal for merchants to sell e-cigarettes to minors; selling e-cigarettes online or in Moments will adversely affect the physical and mental health of minors, and relevant notices have clearly prohibited the online sales of e-cigarettes. , Selling e-cigarettes on the Internet or in Moments is also illegal.
The market scale has expanded dramatically
There are gaps in regulation
Since 2018, my country's e-cigarette industry has grown rapidly.
According to the company's data, from 2011 to 2018, the growth rate of registration of e-cigarette-related companies was relatively slow, and the growth rate began to accelerate in 2019, with a total of 4650 registered that year, a year-on-year increase of 100%.
The industry will usher in an unprecedented outbreak in 2020. A total of 17,900 related companies were registered throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 284.6%.
The strong growth trend will continue in 2021.
Due to the general characteristics of the separation of e-cigarettes and smoking utensils, there have been controversies among all parties as to which products should be used to supervise electronic cigarettes.
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration actively advocates its inclusion in the tobacco management system.
In my country, tobacco implements a national monopoly system. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the China National Tobacco Corporation have a joint office to centrally and uniformly manage the entire industry's "people, finances, materials, production, supply, marketing, internal, external, and trade".
In July 2020, the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau officially launched a special inspection action on the e-cigarette market, and subsequently interviewed 136 e-cigarette and Internet companies within two months.
But judging from the current situation, the results achieved are not obvious.
Some experts believe that the inability to determine whether e-cigarettes are ordinary commodities, tobacco products or medicines has led to a regulatory gap in the market and a series of chaos.
Du Leqi, director of the Economic Law Research Society of Jiangsu Law Society and associate professor of Jiangsu University Law School, told the reporter of Rule of Law Daily that for a long time, e-cigarettes have been regulated as general consumer goods, which makes the production and sales of e-cigarettes illegal. Or the excessive addition of harmful substances, the generalization of business methods and sales targets, etc., cannot be strictly monitored in accordance with relevant laws and regulations on tobacco monopoly.
Ren Chao said that in terms of sales and publicity, there are a lot of false publicity, counterfeit trademarks, and patent infringement in the electronic cigarette market.
Many e-cigarette companies use online platforms and large-scale offline physical stores and vending machines to illegally publish advertisements, and use signs that e-cigarettes are less harmful to health than traditional cigarettes and can assist smoking cessation, and induce smokers and even teenagers. Consumer electronic cigarettes.
It is worth noting that according to the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from E-cigarettes" issued by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and State Administration for Market Regulation in 2019, online sales of e-cigarettes have been strictly prohibited.
However, a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" found that although direct searches for "e-cigarettes" on some e-commerce platforms are no longer displayed, searches with keywords such as "atom bombs" and "electronic vaporizers" can still be purchased online. To e-cigarette products.
There are still people selling e-cigarettes on social media such as Tieba and Moments.
"In terms of national fiscal taxation, due to the lack of effective supervision and related taxation regulations, the disorderly development of the e-cigarette industry has caused a large loss of national fiscal and tax revenue. Compared with traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are not subject to consumption tax. It is understood that current e-cigarette companies The tax burden rate is only about 13%, which is a huge gap compared with the comprehensive tax burden rate of cigarettes of about 67%." Ren Chao said.
Included in the tobacco regulatory system
Guide the healthy development of the industry
E-cigarettes, which have been wandering in the “grey zone” of supervision all the year round, have ushered in a “sharp sword” of supervision this year.
On March 22, in order to further strengthen the supervision of new types of tobacco such as e-cigarettes, the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" jointly drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration was open to the public for comments.
Among them, it is proposed to add an article to the supplementary provisions of the original regulations: "E-cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations on cigarettes in these regulations."
In Ren Chao's view, this means that e-cigarettes will have a legal basis for supervision as a "tobacco monopoly" to a certain extent.
New tobacco products such as e-cigarettes are homogenous with traditional cigarettes in terms of core ingredients, product functions, consumption methods, etc. The draft of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology this time releases a strong signal to strengthen the supervision of e-cigarettes, which may imply the supervision of e-cigarettes in the future Will be included in the tobacco monopoly supervision system.
"The legal supervision of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes in accordance with tobacco standards effectively solves the problem of unreliable supervision and law enforcement, which is conducive to clarifying the supervisory body and supervisory standards of e-cigarettes, raising the awareness of supervision in the field of e-cigarettes, and promoting e-cigarettes. The rule of law in tobacco regulation.” Ren Chao said.
It is understood that the day after the "Draft for Solicitation of Comments" was announced, the market value of the three related listed companies shrank by 200 billion yuan in total.
It is obvious that a large number of small e-cigarette brands will be eliminated in the future.
According to the analysis of the China Commercial Industry Research Institute, the past era of low threshold and free operation may be completely over, and the electronic cigarette industry will enter the era of licensed operation.
Du Leqi believes that although strict supervision will increase the production and operating costs of e-cigarettes and reduce profit margins in the short term, in the long run, the inclusion of e-cigarettes in the scope of tobacco products can be used for the production, wholesale and sales of e-cigarettes on the one hand. Each link provides legal basis, and on the other hand, it can provide legal guidance for the overall compliance and healthy development of the e-cigarette industry.
Realizing the legalization of e-cigarette supervision will help to achieve a balance of interests between operators and consumers in the e-cigarette industry.
Du Leqi suggested that in terms of follow-up supervision, national standards for e-cigarettes should be promulgated as soon as possible, clarifying mandatory quality standards for the production of e-cigarettes, and providing standards and standards for improving the effectiveness of e-cigarette supervision.
New tobacco products such as e-cigarettes are homogenous with traditional cigarettes in terms of core ingredients, product functions, and consumption methods, and should be supervised by referring to cigarette categories.
Regarding the main body of supervision, we should continue to strengthen the professional supervision of tobacco monopoly administrative departments and market supervision departments. At the same time, we should also establish a diversified supervision mechanism that includes the participation of Internet platform operators and the public.