Tag: RELX Technology

China Authorities Give Production License to RELX

Credit: RLX Technology
RELX Technology has joined a small but growing number of vaping product manufacturers that have received a manufacturing license from China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA).
On Nov. 26, 2021, China’s State Council amended the country’s tobacco monopoly law to include vapor products, giving the STMA authority to regulate the sector.
The STMA license, which is valid until July 31, 2023, allows RLX Technology to manufacture 15.05 million rechargeable vaping devices, 328.7 million cartridges and 6.1 million disposable e-cigarettes per year.
Since the first quarter of 2022, Chinese authorities have issued a series of implementing rules and guiding opinions to strengthen oversight of e-cigarette products and regulate the e-cigarette industry. These rules and opinions set forth that all e-cigarette manufacturing enterprises must obtain a license from the STMA.
“This license represents an important milestone in our strategic roadmap as we strive to comply with the new regulatory requirements in a timely manner,” said Ying (Kate) Wang, co-founder, chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of RLX Technology, in a statement.
“We believe that we are well-positioned to achieve compliance in our operations according to schedule. To adapt to the new market dynamics and ensure business development, we will, and will urge our business partners to, continue making efforts to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, obtaining requisite licenses and regulatory approvals, developing products that meet the mandatory national standards, and processing all transactions via the National E-cigarette Transaction Platform when it is implemented.
“We will remain committed to providing high-quality products that deliver superior performance and safety in strict compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, while exploring new growth opportunities in the industry.”
July 25, 2022
RELX Trains UAE Customs Officials on Illicit Trade

Photo: F8 \ Suport Ukraine
RELX International and SABA IP recently trained officials from the Abu Dhabi Customs Authority and Department of Economic Development to help them combat the illegal trade in vapor products.
The session covered topics such as distinguishing legal products from illegal ones, raising awareness about the consequences of the illegal e-cigarette trade and sharing research and intelligence. The program also discussed product authentication, tracking and tracing technologies.
According to RELX, contraband and counterfeit e-cigarettes are produced in unregulated facilities and pose a serious health risk to legal age consumers and minors. Counterfeit e-cigarettes often use inferior e-liquid formulas; capsules frequently leak and provide misleading information about the nicotine dosage in the capsules.
“The training sessions for the Abu Dhabi Customs Authority, Department of Economic Development and Ras Al Khaimah Customs Authority showcase RELX International’s commitment, as a responsible company, to working with local authorities, investigation firms and e-commerce platforms to identify and remove contraband and counterfeit e-cigarette products from the market, as part of the RELX Pledge,” said Robert Naouss, external affairs director, MENA and Europe at RELX International, in a statement.
In 2019, RELX International established the Golden Shield Program to prevent the production and sale of illicit goods. Since its inauguration, the program has helped remove more than 550,000 fake products from the market, plus over 77,000 websites.
Additional training sessions are planned in countries across the Middle East, including in Egypt and Jordan. Earlier this year, RELX concluded a training session with customs officials in Saudi Arabia.
July 7, 2022
Media Report Triggers Sell-off of Vapor Stocks

Photo: Cozyta
E-cigarette stocks fell on Aug. 5 after Chinese state media ran reports about the risks of vaping, reports Reuters.
Huabao International Holdings tumbled 8 percent in Hong Kong morning trade while China Boton Group Co. fell 4 percent. Market leader Relx Technology closed almost 5 percent lower in New York after the Xinhua news agency published a report saying that minors were gaining easy access to e-cigarettes.
Xinhua said its reporters made unannounced visits to e-cigarette shops in the northern cities of Tianjin and Shenyang and found that while all had signs stating sales to minors were prohibited, enforcement of the law varied in practice.
The sell-off demonstrated how investors remain on edge and on the hunt for clues about which companies might be vulnerable to state intervention after the property, education and technology sectors were hit by Beijing regulators in recent months with unprecedented sweeping rules.
Similar market sentiment took hold of liquor-related stocks after the Ministry of Science and Technology posted an article citing a study that linked alcohol consumption to cancer.
Investors in Chinese companies often scrutinize state media reports for hints about regulators’ thinking.
China is the world’s largest consumer of tobacco products, with more than 300 million smokers, according to the World Health Organization.
August 6, 2021
Relx Technology Chooses Citigroup for U.S. Share Sale
Chinese e-cigarette maker Relx Technology has picked Citigroup Inc. for its planned initial public offering in the U.S., people with knowledge of the matter said.
Credit: RELX
The Shenzhen-based company, which counts Sequoia Capital among its backers, is seeking to raise as much as $1 billion in a share sale next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Relx Technology may add more banks at a later stage, according to one of the people, according to an article in Bloomberg.
Deliberations for the potential IPO are at an early stage, and details such as size and timing may change, the people said. A representative for Citigroup declined to comment. A spokesperson for Relx Technology said “the market rumors are not true,” without elaborating.
Chinese companies are choosing to list in the U.S. at a rapid pace despite Congress approving legislation that could force firms to withdraw from American exchanges in a dispute over audit inspection rules. Mainland and Hong Kong firms have raised $14.8 billion through U.S. initial public offerings this year, the second-best year on record, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The IPO plan comes on the heels of fellow e-cigarette device maker Smoore International Holdings Ltd.’s much sought-after Hong Kong debut share sale. Smoore raised HK$8.19 billion ($1.06 billion) in July after pricing its IPO at the top end of a marketed range. The share price has soared more than 300%.
December 15, 2020
Relx Opens Bioscience Lab to Research E-Cigs

Photo: RELX Technology
RELX Opens Bioscience Lab to Enhance E-Cigarette Research
RELX Technology has started operations at its newly established e-cigarette bioscience laboratory to conduct systematic research on the effects of e-cigarettes through in vivo and in vitro tests, as well as conduct pre-clinical safety assessments.
Located in Shenzhen, China, the bioscience laboratory is currently conducting research on the impact of RELX products on animal cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems, to better carry out a comprehensive impact evaluation of vapor products.
“Science is the foundation of trust. As the industry leader, we have the responsibility to expand the borders of e-cigarette science and explore the unknown,” said Kate Wang, founder and CEO of RELX, in a statement.
At the company’s recent lab open day, RELX also announced its plan to establish a “1+4” scientific research approach—i.e. anchored by platform development, followed by toxicological assessment, clinical assessment, perception behavior study and long-term assessment.
“E-cigarettes are sometimes viewed with suspicion because we have incomplete knowledge,” said Yilong Wen, RELX Co-founder and head of science, research and development and supply chain, “The RELX bioscience lab’s mission is to explore the unknown. We want to collect evidence through a scientific approach and strive to prove the potential for e-cigarettes to be less harmful, and in doing so, provide users the option to choose an alternative.”
To ensure the reliability and quality of its products, RELX established a chemical and physical laboratory in 2018. The laboratory is certified by the internationally recognized China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment.
RELX is currently conducting research projects on different topics with six universities including the Sun Yat-sen University and Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, two hospitals and nine scientific research institutions.
September 18, 2020
RELX Program Nets $700,000 in Counterfeit Products

Credit: RELX
RELX Technology has helped Chinese authorities seize over 70,000 counterfeit e-cigarette products in June and July, 2020 through the company’s Golden Shield Program. The street market value of the products seized is estimated to be worth over $700,000.
It is understood that the products were intended to be sold in a number of markets around the world, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and China, according to a press release. Following the rise in the production of counterfeit vapor products and e-liquids, RELX established the Golden Shield Program in August 2019 to help prevent the production and sale of the illicit goods.
Members of RELX’s Golden Shield Program are working with online social media platforms, online e-commerce platforms, China’s Administration for Industry and Commerce, and local authorities throughout China to eliminate counterfeit vaping products from the market.
To date, RELX’s Golden Shield Program has aided authorities in 26 cases related to the production and sale of counterfeit vaping products, leading to the seizure of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit vapor devices, e-liquids, and other merchandise, the release states.
RELX’s R&D facility has performed a series of tests on the counterfeit devices and pods. The lab found that illicit compatible pods often use inferior e-liquids; contain harmful substances like toluene at levels that greatly exceed normal standards; and the nicotine content does not match what is labelled on the packaging. This explains why the compatible pods are often sold at a much lower price.
RELX has also found that fake RELX devices engraved with luxury brand logos, or co-branded devices, are also being sold on different social media networks like Facebook and Instagram. The fake engraved devices are similar to compatible pods in that they are produced in factories with no certification.
The products are not only a serious violation of RELX’s intellectual property, they are also a safety hazard, as their batteries are not properly tested. There have already been a number of cases where the battery of a fake engraved device has exploded.
Chen Changlu, Deputy General Manager at Amperex Technology Limited, a leading Chinese battery manufacturer, stated in an interview that lithium is a very active element.
“If not managed properly, it can easily lead to an item catching fire or even exploding. Developing safe designs is essential when using lithium batteries, but the market has many different players,” said Chen. “Some manufacturers remove the safety protection device or use inferior materials, creating a potential safety hazard. Please refrain from purchasing any products from unregulated manufacturers and only purchase products from legitimate manufacturers on official channels.”
RELX customers should only buy products from authorized channels and use QR code scanners on their phone to verify the authenticity of RELX products, according to the release. For more information on how to authenticate RELX products, customers can visit: https://relxnow.com/pages/verify.
July 20, 2020
RELX Aims to Serve Adult Consumers, Prevent Youth Use

Credit: RELX
Youth use is a major concern for the vapor industry. RELX Technology today published its first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, outlining the concrete steps the company is taking to advance its vision to provide vaping solutions, “while driving operational excellence, managing its social impact and preventing underage use of its products,” according to a press release.
The report provides a comprehensive picture of its CSR activities. Key 2019 highlights, which span a wide range of activities from environmental protection to economic empowerment, include:
RELX opened over 2,500 RELX points of sale and entered over 100,000 retail stores, serving adult consumers in over 40 countries and regions.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company established a support fund of RMB 20 million and provided other support mechanisms, including sending hand sanitizer and masks to RELX stores and partners all over the world.
RELX has installed ID and facial recognition technology in 80% of stores. The pre-purchase age verification process led RELX to refuse to sell products to 2% of store visitors, after they were found to be under-age.
RELX launched 16 anti-counterfeit cases in 2019, leading to the seizure of over 65,000 counterfeit products.
RELX initiated the “Lighten the Burden on Earth” campaign and recovered over 20,000 empty pods in one month.
The company terminated partnerships with close to 1,800 retail stores, which were located too close to schools.
RELX is on course with its business and sustainability ambitions, delivering on its goal to develop viable alternatives to cigarettes, supporting its local communities in times of crises, all while ensuring its products do not fall in the wrong hands.
The report in full is available here on https://relxnow.com/blogs/article/globalcsr.
June 16, 2020
Relx Receives Red Dot Award
Relx Technology has been awarded the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for its latest e-cigarette, Relx Infinity. The Red Dot Award is awarded to products that feature exceptional design.
The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. The international jury comprises experienced experts from different disciplines and has been convening for more than 60 years. True to the motto “In search of good design and innovation,” their assessment focuses on criteria such as innovation, functionality, formal quality, longevity and ergonomics.
Unveiled in Shenzhen, China, in January, Relx Infinity is the company’s latest product.
March 31, 2020