“Fulu Big Easter Egg, highly recommended! Mint white peach green brings out the taste of the whole”, “Rabbit milk tea cup, water-based oil is refreshing and moist, and it is silky like milk tea”, “Fluid violenceKomiks bear style, can be used as ornaments after smoking, and its appearance is really high”… The reporter recently found that a large number of such “three-no” electronic cigarette products have appeared in the online and offline electronic cigarette market: there is no detailed Chinese description on the outer packaging, no information on the manufacturer, and no production license. These “three-no” e-cigarettes are called “disposable aerosol”, “milk tea cup”, “cola can”, “planet cup” and so on in the promotional terms of the outer packaging and sellers. Various flavors are the main selling points of this type of product.
In fact, the “Mandatory National Standards for Electronic Cigarettes” and “E-cigarette Management Measures” expressly prohibit seasoning e-cigarettes other than tobacco flavors. At the same time, selling e-cigarettes to minors is also prohibited. However, this type of “three-no” e-cigarette has not only attracted a large number of young people with unique shapes and varied flavors, but also gradually attracted many minors to “enter the circle”.
The experts interviewed believe that the proliferation of “three-no” e-cigarettes will cause many harms, disrupt the order of the tobacco market and endanger human health, and its harm to minors is even more worthy of vigilance. Under multiple bans, “BabaylanThree No” e-cigarettes are still growing wildly, which is attributed to the concealment of transaction methods and poor supervision. Corresponding measures are urgently needed to be regulated.
San-no electronic cigarette is sought after by all kinds of flavors to attract young people
“Some time ago, I originally wanted to buy ordinary cigarettes, but after entering the store, the boss enthusiastically recommended a one-time disposable electronic cigarette to me, saying it is called a ‘Coke can’. It has many flavors and has a sweet taste. Young people love to smoke.” Mr. Yuan, a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing, talked to reporters about his first experience in buying e-cigarettes.
The tobacco hotel Mr. Yuan went to is located in a community in Chaoyang District. According to the store owner, disposable electronic cigarettes can be smoked about 6,000 pcs, and they can be smoked just by charging. One pc can be smoked for a month. It is cost-effective and has various fruit flavors. It is easier to smoke than ordinary cigarettes and ordinary electronic cigarettes on the market. Out of curiosity, Mr. Yuan spent 99 yuan to buy a lemon-flavored “Cola can”.
Mr. Yuan only discovered after returning home that this e-cigarette may be a “three-no” product. “The outer packaging is particularly simple, and there is no production standard for manufacturers and Komiks. The attached instruction manual only has traditional Chinese in it.” After smoking for a while, Mr. Yuan found that although this fruit-flavored e-cigarette does not have the tar smell of ordinary cigarettes, it tastes sweet when smoking, but if you smoke too much, you will feel your throat hurt. “I didn’t dare to smoke this type of e-cigarette again later.”
Recently, the reporter came to the above-mentioned tobacco hotel for an on-site interview. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a large number of colorful small bottles placed in front of the cash register at the door. After observing these small bottles, the shop owner immediately took out one and handed it over and said, “Disposable electronic cigarettes, fruity and soda, not irritating, many young people buy them.” The disposable electronic cigarettes mentioned by the shop owner range from 89 yuan to 99 yuan. Among them, a “Rabbit Milk Tea Cup” is called “Rabbit Milk Tea Cup”. It looks like a mini water cup with straw. The packaging also has a cartoon rabbit pattern printed on it, which is divided into multiple colors. It does not correspond to different flavors of the same color, including kiwi fruit, black currant, sensation cola, etc. href=”https://comicmov.com/”>Komiks. In addition, there are Cinema replacement core atomization bombs for many electronic cigarettes, and there are also many flavors, such as Peach Duoduo, Yuanqi Strawberry, Bingpo Mint, etc.
The reporter spent 99 yuan to buy one of the green-flavored “Rabbit Milk Tea Cups”. Although there is a brand name on the outer packaging of this product, there is no information on the production batch number, production manufacturer, instructions for use, etc., and only simple information shows that the e-liquid capacity of the product is 15 ml and the nicotine content is 30 mg per ml.
ReporterWhen asked the store owner for specific usage, the reply was “You can directly charge with your own data cable, and you can draw it by charging, and you can draw about 6,000 pips.” When introducing the products, the shop owner repeatedly stated that this kind of fruity e-cigarette “is bought by young people, and they bought several flavors at a time and changed them, including many student parties.”
It is understood that “three-no” e-cigarettes such as “Cola Can” have appeared quietly in the market recently and have quickly become popular among young people.
Miss Duan from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province often saw that young people carried exquisitely styling e-cigarettes with them. She felt that it was cool to take them out and take a sip, so she asked a friend to buy a fruit-flavored e-cigarette called “Milk Tea Cup”.
“I simply think it looks goodKomiks, it’s fun to smoke, and thinking that the fruity smell should not be harmful. This is different from the ordinary electronic cigarettes bought by the counter. It tastes really fragrant when you smoke, but you can’t smoke too much a day. If you smoke for more than a dozen sips, you feel like your throat is being held back.” Ms. Duan said that the audience of this kind of electronic cigarette is mainly young people, and many “post-00s” around you are smoking.
Recently, a review blogger with 20 million fans posted a video on a short video platform introducing the harm of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. However, in the comments, many netizens left messages saying “I want to buy”, “Is there any sold”, “Who young people smoke cigarettes?” This shows the popularity of this fruit-flavored e-cigarette.
Related news reports show that many shops around primary and secondary schools sell fruity electronic cigarettes to students. Some netizens commented, “I am only in the sixth grade, and there are people in the class who smoke. The teacher has been busy asking parents to ‘drink tea’ recently.” “I am now in the second year of junior high school, and there are indeed many people smoking around me.”
Under the ban, a hidden sales platform sets up exclusive super talk
The reporter recently found that there are a large number of “three-no” e-cigarette sales in offline physical stores, online e-commerce platforms, and social software.
On some e-commerce platforms, when searching for the keyword “e-cigarette”, the “Green Net Plan” page will pop up directly, showing that according to relevant laws and regulations, no citizen, legal person or other organization shall sell tobacco monopoly products through information networks, and shall not publish information on promoting and selling e-cigarettes. The platform further stipulates that the release of electronic cigarettes and related products is prohibited, such as electronic cigarette sets, atomizers, e-liquids, cigarette cartridges, oil injection tools or services, heating cigarettes and cigarettes, etc.
Therefore, searching for “fruit e-cigarettes”, “e-liquid” and other related platformsCinema shows no search results.
However, the “three-no” e-cigarettes did not completely disappear on e-commerce platforms, but continued to exist in another more hidden form. After searching with keywords such as “atomizing oil”, “atomizer”, and “Internet celebrity milk tea bottle”, they immediately popped up similar products of “three-no” electronic cigarettes on the market, and even peripheral products such as e-cigarette fruit-flavored beads and fruit-flavored filters.
The products searched by hidden keywords are mostly fruity supplements for electronic cigarettes, and the introduction on the product details page is even more vague. For example, a certain product name is “Fruit Flavored Atomized Oil Herbal Aromatherapy Special Replenishment Liquid Oil Electronic High Concentration Steam Essential Oil”, with monthly sales reaching more than 400, a supplementary liquid of 30 ml, 55 yuan. Consult customer service before placing an order and you can get a gift from the oil injector.
Sellers of such products are particularly cautious. When the reporter mentioned words such as “smoke”, “milk tea cup” in the chat box, the customer service immediately asked “please withdraw the message” and then said that they were selling “aromatherapy”. In addition, other stores also call supplement liquids “perfume” and “edible oil”.
In addition to the situation of selling goods on e-commerce platforms, many “three-no” e-cigarette sales places have been transferred to more hidden social platforms. On a social platform, there is even a “milk tea cup” exclusive super topic. The topics are all purchase, sales, and transaction information. Most sellers say, “If you want to add a private chat account and chat privately, you can send and express delivery in the same city.”
The reporter added the chat accounts of several of the sellers and learned that they sold both complete e-cigarettes and supplement liquids, “Cola cans”, “milk tea cups”, and “Cute Tiger Cups”. Some even claimed that “manufacturer shipped directly”, with prices ranging from 55 yuan to 168 yuan.
In the online market, the price of this type of e-cigarette is extremely different. The same “Cute Tiger Cup” is 168 yuan in the hands of one seller, while the price of another seller is only 58 yuan. Surprisingly, from the information on one of the sellers’ circle of friends, she is also a sophomore high school student and is a minor herself. During the chat, she told reporters: “It’s so cool for all her peers to smoke.”
However, in the opinion of the experts interviewed, these “three-no” e-cigarettes exist in large quantities, and even extend their tentacles to minors, which not only disrupts the tobacco market, but also causes various negative effects.
Zhu Jie, senior partner of Taihetai (Chongqing) Law Firm, believes that this type of “three no’s””E-cigarettes attract teenagers to buy through their unique packaging and unique tastes. Due to their lack of discernment, teenagers are often easily passively on the smoking path. In the end, it will not only affect personal health, but also harm education and social order.
Hidden in the dark to fightCinemaIt is imperative to strengthen supervision
The “Mandatory National Standard for Electronic Cigarettes” officially implemented on October 1, 2022 stipulates that electronic cigarette cartridges are prohibited from selling other flavors other than tobacco. The “Electronic Cigarette Management Measures” also clearly stipulates that no individual, legal person or other organization shall sell electronic cigarette products through information networks other than the electronic cigarette transaction management platform stipulated in these Measures; it is prohibited to sell electronic cigarettes to minors.
However, under multiple bans, why can “three-no” e-cigarettes still be easily purchased?
Zhu Jie said that with the introduction of the national standard for electronic cigarettes, national standard e-cigarettes can only sell tobacco flavors, while “three-no” e-cigarettes have various Growing fruit flavors is easier to be accepted by consumers. In May 2022, the “2021 Tobacco Monitoring Results of Chinese Middle School Students and College Students” released by the Tobacco Control Office of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the proportion of middle school students who used e-cigarettes in 2021 was 16.1%, of which 63.8% of the fruit flavors were used. Among them, 60.9% of Chinese e-cigarette consumers prefer flavors in 2021, 60.9% of consumers prefer rich fruits, foods and other flavors.
Wu Di, a lecturer at the School of Legal Affairs of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, believes that this type of e-cigarette is highly attractive to young consumers, especially minors. Its appearance design is very cute, its packaging is like snacks or toys, and it has a variety of novel flavors, which is very attractive to children. Teenagers are in the stage of quickly exploring and learning about things around them, Babaylan is highly curious about emerging things. Compared with traditional tobacco, e-cigarettes are more in line with the psychological characteristics of teenagers because of their novel appearance design and different taste styles.
“After the issuance of the “Electronic Cigarette Management Measures”, due to the explicit prohibition on the sale of seasoned e-cigarettes except tobacco flavors and e-cigarettes that can add atoms on their own, some teenagers choose these “three-no” products as new “toys” and continue to choose their favorite flavors. “Wu Di said. Zhu Jie also mentioned that the cost of “three-no” e-cigarettes in R&D, taxation, labor, etc. is much lower than that of national standard e-cigarettes, so the price is low and the profit margin is large. Therefore, consumers are more willing to choose and merchants are more profitable. At the same time, since this type of “three-no” e-cigarette is mostly operated in small workshops, with funds and technologyThe investment in technology is low and hidden in the dark, so it is difficult for relevant departments to crack down on it.
Zhu Jie suggested that relevant departments strengthen supervision, start from both production and sales, and take a two-pronged approach. Relevant regulatory departments trace the root cause to find illegal manufacturers and crack down on them; public security departments and market supervision departments should conduct inspections in concentrated places such as bars and schools, and promptly discover and deal with the “three-no” electronic cigarette sales terminals. At the same time, a reporting reward mechanism will be established to turn supervision into group prevention and control, and to improve supervision efficiency.
Wu Di believes that the responsibility of the online platform should be further strengthened, and technical means should be taken to review and screen some conjunctions that may involve “three-no” e-cigarettes, such as “atomized oil”, and strictly check whether the platform merchants have “blind-box operations” and other behaviors. Social platforms should conduct more stringent investigations on information involving e-cigarettes and their conjunctions, and should promptly block illegal accounts that sell e-cigarettes. Komiks take necessary restrictive measures on suspicious accounts to protect the healthy growth of minors.
“We must focus on strengthening the main management responsibilities of e-commerce platforms and social platforms, and conduct strict inspections. The express delivery process must adhere to the real-name system, strictly inspect parcel items, and not provide convenience for illegally sending ‘three-no’ e-cigarettes.” Wu Di said.
Zhu Jie also called on schools and parents to jointly shoulder the educational responsibilities. Schools should strengthen publicity and education on legal knowledge and health knowledge for young people, so that young people can understand the harm of tobacco, correctly guide young people to stay away from tobacco, and promptly guide and stop bad campus habits. Parents should also strengthen education and management to avoid teenagers from going to occasions where they are prone to exposure to tobacco.
Source | Editor of the Rule of Law Daily | Zheng Zongmin