China stubs out online access to e-cigarettes amid health concerns
- E-commerce platforms say they will comply with request from tobacco regulator to remove online stores
The regulator issued a notice on Friday asking e-commerce platforms and businesses to shut online stores that sell the products. Similar takedowns were launched in the US recently amid government scrutiny of the effect of vaping on public health.
It also arrives as a bevy of Chinese start-ups race to capture a piece of China’s massive potential market for e-cigarettes.
The notice, dated October 30, was published one day later on the website of state monopoly China Tobacco, which is overseen by the country’s tobacco regulator. It urged “e-cigarette producers, retailers or individual sellers to temporarily close online sales websites or channels” and also called on e-commerce platforms to “temporarily close e-cigarette shops”.
The move was to “further strengthen the protection of the physical and mental health of minors,” the regulator said.
China is home to more than 300 million smokers, making it the world’s largest market for smokers.