N
F
E
R
H
CHINA BANS
ONLINE
E-CIGARETTE
SALES
Move deemed necessary to protect
the “physical and mental health of
young people.”
Words: Patrick Griffin
18 VM26
NEWS
On the fi nal day of the IECIE expo in Shanghai, with
somewhat ironic timing, China effectively banned
all sales of e-cigarettes online.
With more than 7.4 million e-cigarette users in
China, this is a huge blow for the country’s vaping
industry.
China’s e-cigarette market was estimated to
have been worth US$718 million last year, an
increase from $451 million in 2016.
A large percentage of those sales took place
online from a variety of sources including
manufacturer websites, e-commerce platforms,
social networking sites and online streaming
channels. The move, announced by the State
Tobacco Monopoly Administration and State
Administration for Market Regulation, says it
is aimed at “protecting minors from electronic
smoke.”
It calls for all websites and apps selling
e-cigarettes to be shut down, all online
marketing campaigns halted and also ordered
online shopping platforms to remove e-cigarette
products from their sites.
The announcement said: “Minors buy and
smoke electronic cigarettes [bought] through