The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration responded to the proposal put forward by the members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on protecting minors from electronic cigarettes

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration responded to the proposal put forward by the members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on protecting minors from electronic cigarettes

Released by the website of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.
Statement: The content of this article is quoted from the official website and is only used for research by professionals in the industry. All content shall be subject to the official website.

On December 26, 2024, the website of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration announced the "Reply to Proposal No. 01470 (Social Management No. 145) of the Second Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference". The full text is as follows:

The website of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration published "Reply to Proposal No. 01470 (Social Management No. 145) of the Second Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference" | Source: Website of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration

Reply to Proposal No. 01470 (Social Management No. 145) of the Second Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

Regarding the proposal put forward by the members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on protecting minors from electronic cigarettes, our bureau replied as follows:

1. Strengthen the legislation on electronic cigarette supervision and promote the legalization and standardization of electronic cigarette supervision

In October 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress reviewed and passed and promulgated the newly revised "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors". On November 10, 2021, the State Council promulgated the "Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" (State Order No. 750), which stipulates that electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall refer to the relevant provisions of cigarettes in the regulations for implementation, which provides a legal and regulatory basis for strengthening the supervision of new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes, protecting the health of the people, and especially protecting minors from electronic cigarettes.

On March 11, 2022, our bureau announced the "Electronic Cigarette Management Measures". According to the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors" and the series of requirements for tobacco supervision in the tobacco monopoly laws and regulations, a series of regulations were made on the packaging labels and warnings of electronic cigarette products, prohibiting the establishment of electronic cigarette product sales outlets around primary and secondary schools, special education schools, secondary vocational schools, specialized schools, and kindergartens, and prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors, etc., which provided a strong policy guarantee for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors and safeguarding the healthy growth of minors. On April 8, 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) issued the mandatory national standard for "Electronic Cigarettes" (GB 41700-2022), which clearly stipulates that the characteristic flavor of electronic cigarette products should not present other flavors except tobacco, and provides scientific and technological standards for preventing and inducing minors to smoke electronic cigarettes. On this basis, my country has comprehensively formed a "1+2+N" electronic cigarette supervision system based on the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law", focusing on the "Electronic Cigarette Management Measures" and the "Electronic Cigarette" national standard, and supported by multiple policy documents, providing a strong legal guarantee for protecting minors from electronic cigarettes.

2. Strengthen the supervision and law enforcement of e-cigarettes to protect the healthy growth of minors

In August 2018, our bureau and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Notice on Prohibition of Selling E-cigarettes to Minors"; in November 2019, the two departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Protecting Minors from E-cigarettes". Our bureau, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation, carried out special inspections of the e-cigarette market and the "Guardian Growth" special action to protect minors from tobacco harm from July to September 2020 and June to September 2021, respectively. From February 2022, the Ministry of Public Security, our bureau, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Ministry of Education jointly organized a three-month special campaign to clean up and rectify the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and severely crack down on e-cigarette-related crimes; in November 2022, a crackdown on the illegal production and sale of "milk tea cups" and "coke cans" and other invisible variant e-cigarettes was launched. In 2023 and 2024, we will continue to organize special inspections to regulate the order of the e-cigarette market, and carry out comprehensive inspections and clean-ups at the production source, distribution channels, and retail markets; in May 2024, we will carry out special governance to protect minors from e-cigarettes, and resolutely prevent e-cigarettes from invading primary and secondary school campuses. We have successfully cracked hundreds of illegal and criminal cases of illegal addition of cannabinoids to e-cigarettes (commonly known as "head-on e-cigarettes") with the public security department, creating a good environment for protecting minors from e-cigarettes and promoting the legalization and standardization of the e-cigarette industry.

3. Strengthen legal publicity and education to create a strong atmosphere of public opinion to protect the healthy growth of minors

Organize policy briefings and press conferences to explain to the public the firm position and policy orientation of implementing the "Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulations for the Implementation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China" and strengthening the supervision of new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes in accordance with the law. We have taken the initiative to speak out publicly on government websites and relevant media many times to strengthen public opinion guidance, interpret policies well, and respond to social concerns. In conjunction with the education and health departments, we actively carried out e-cigarette legal education and popular science publicity "entering campus" and other activities, and enhanced the awareness of minors to consciously identify and resist e-cigarettes through posting slogans, making display boards, signing proposals, pushing videos and information online, and campus lectures. In conjunction with the public security department, we conducted an online e-cigarette questionnaire survey for middle school students across the country. We produced and released a series of public welfare short videos "Guarding Growth", which were played more than 10 million times on the entire network, and were forwarded by many mainstream media and became the main content of the "first lesson of school" in many places. We produced a public welfare advertisement for "cracking down on illegal online sales of e-cigarettes and protecting minors from harm". Central media such as Xinhua News Agency, China Central Radio and Television, and People's Daily have strengthened publicity and reporting on e-cigarette supervision-related work, and continued to create an atmosphere of public opinion for strengthening e-cigarette supervision.

In the next step, our bureau will continue to strengthen the implementation of relevant laws, improve regulatory policies, strengthen joint research and judgment and cooperation, standardize industrial operations, strengthen market supervision, actively publicize and guide, comprehensively improve the comprehensive regulatory effectiveness of e-cigarettes in my country, and make every effort to protect minors from e-cigarettes.