Original title: The national standard of electronic cigarettes has been closed and some stores have been closed
The new national standard requires all fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes to be removed from the shelves
On October 1, the Mandatory National Standard for Electronic Cigarettes (hereinafter referred to as the “National Standard for Electronic Cigarettes”) was officially implemented. Since then, fruit-flavored pods have become history, and the electronic cigarette market has ushered in a unified trading platform, and production and business units must be “certified for employment”. However, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily visited the market on the 2nd and found that many businesses still secretly sell the “fruit flavor” that has been banned from sale.
The next day after the implementation of the national standard, e-cigarette shops closed
A reporter from Beiqing Daily visited some e-cigarette sales stores or brand counters on October 2 and found that a small number of stores had been closed, and the words “transfer” were also posted. In the counters or stores that are still in operation, there are only five or six kinds of electronic cigarette products on display, and there are only two or three kinds of products. Some stores have increased the sale of other non-electronic cigarette products, and some even put on trendy games.
“At present, there are only tobacco-flavored products, and they are all products of the new national standard.” In a store that sells multi-brand electronic cigarettes, various licenses, related policies, and national standards are posted in a prominent place when entering the door. The owner said that after the implementation of the new national standard, the varieties of electronic cigarettes that can be sold have plummeted. Only the national standard tobacco flavors are available, and some brands can only sell one pod. Previously, only one brand could have dozens of flavors of pods.
A reporter from the Beiqing Daily learned that in April this year, the “National Standard for Electronic Cigarettes” was released and officially implemented on October 1, including all fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes. Locked smoking sets; electronic cigarette market players engaged in the production and operation of electronic cigarettes shall obtain a tobacco monopoly license; it is prohibited to publish electronic cigarette advertisements in mass media or public places, public transportation, and outdoors.
On September 29, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the “Notice on Matters Concerning Strengthening the Supervision of Electronic Cigarettes” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”) on its official website, re-emphasizing that starting from October 1, the electronic cigarette market entities engaged in the production and operation of electronic cigarettes will be A tobacco monopoly license should be obtained.
Merchants sell fruit pods the day before the “big deadline”
“After we closed on the evening of the 30th, we have returned all the fruit-flavored products to the factory.” A staff member of a certain brand of electronic cigarette counter told reporters. And on September 30, they were still “selling” fruit-flavored pods. At that time, the prices and preferential margins of more than 20 kinds of pods of various flavors were at the consistent level of the manufacturers, and they did not drop the price because of the “extended deadline”.
The brand also has pods with reduced prices, but half of the specified flavors need to be distributed, and in addition to the ones that are distributed, the rest of the optional styles do not exceed 2 boxes each. The staff member bluntly said that the products to be distributed are the flavors that have more inventory. “Many customers say that they are not used to the smell of tobacco, and if they don’t come up with new products with a light taste in the future, they may not smoke.” The staff member said.
However, a reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that there were not many e-cigarette sellers eager to “dump goods” on September 30. “There are no discounts, but there is no price increase like in previous months. Now it is selling at the original price.” On the afternoon of September 30, an e-cigarette seller said whether fruit-flavored pods were on sale. At that time, the merchant said that some consumers were rushing to stock up before the “big time”.
However, the seller was tight-lipped about the whereabouts of the remaining fruit-flavored pods in the store. “The rest will be given away, and I will smoke it myself, so I keep it for myself.”
There are still merchants who secretly sell “fruit flavors” online
Some e-cigarette consumers reported to the Beiqing Daily reporter that some e-cigarette sellers directly asked them to add WeChat, and ensured that they could still sell the flavors they needed privately after the “limit”.
According to industry insiders, after the official implementation of the national standard for e-cigarettes, all products in the market that do not meet the national standard will be considered fake and inferior products. The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has made it clear that after the implementation of the national standard, the bureau will work closely with relevant departments to establish working mechanisms such as joint inspection, joint law enforcement and execution, and build “online cleaning, offline control, full chain coverage, and joint governance.” The market supervision system has been established, and efforts have been made to improve the joint governance capacity of electronic cigarettes.
In addition, on September 30, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration reissued the “Notice of the State Post Bureau of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration on the Delivery Limits of Electronic Cigarette Products, Atomizers, and Nicotine Used in Electronic Cigarettes (Draft for Comment)”, stipulating that the daily limit for each person is limited. Send one piece, and each piece of e-cigarettes should not exceed 6 cartridges, 2 smoking sets, 6 combined products, 12ml of vape and nicotine, and channel restrictions will be further tightened.