China Releases Technical Standards for Vaping Products
China’s market regulator today unveiled technical standards for e-cigarettes which will go into effect starting Oct 1.
In a public document, the State Administration for Market Regulation listed the requirements for design, chemical compounds, and the mechanics for e-cigarettes that domestic manufacturers must meet in order to sell their products, according to Channel News Asia.
In March, Chinese tobacco authorities issued a finalized version of rules that stipulate other requirements for e-cigarette companies in China.
Most notably, the rules state that e-cigarette companies may only sell their products through authorized channels, and also bar vendors from selling e-cigarette flavors other than tobacco.
Also, the design of the product should not induce minors. The e-cigarette set and cartridges should be sealed to prevent refilling and e-cigarette sets should have a protection to prevent the device to be turned on by a child or by accident, according to the rules.
“The official release of the national standards for e-cigarettes means that there is a threshold for market access and a national mandatory standard for the quality of e-cigarettes, which is of great significance in protecting the rights and interests of minors and consumers,” said Ao Weino, Secretary-General of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported on Tuesday.
Additionally, Chen Zhong, a senior expert on the e-cigarette industry, said that the era of regulation of e-cigarettes has come and it is an important milestone in the development of e-cigarettes in China.
“From now on, all [e-cigarette] products will be developed according to open and transparent rules, and the whole industry chain will adopt the same standards,” Chen was quoted in a report by the Securities Times.
The Beijing Business Today has revealed that many flavored vape products have seen prices increase by up to 20-30 yuan ($3.14-$4.72). Market research firm Forward Industrial Research Institute, has recently reported that in China there are approximately 1,500 vape manufacturers and brand enterprises, and over 100,000 e-cigarette supply chains and related service enterprises, providing employment to an estimated 5.5 million people.
The research firm also found that in 2021, the domestic e-cigarette sales totaled about 19.7 billion yuan ($3 billion), with an annual growth of 36 percent.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.