China stubs out online access to e-cigarettes amid health concerns

China’s tobacco regulator has moved to shut off supply of electronic cigarette products via the internet, in a bid to stop minors from buying e-cigarettes online.

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.

In recent years Chinese start-ups, with venture capital money, have launched products with similar design characteristics to those made by Juul – the e-cigarette company backed by Altria Group which swept the US with its compact form factor and potent nicotine salt formulation.

Relx, founded by former employees of Uber China, and Snow+, founded by a team of former bitcoin entrepreneurs, are among the domestic market leaders.

Vaping ban: Trump goes to war on flavoured e-cigarettes

The companies currently operate in a regulatory grey area in China, as no national-level rules exist that provide standards for the safe manufacture and sale of nicotine salt-based e-cigarettes.

Meanwhile, China Tobacco operates as a state-backed monopoly, controlling the sale and distribution of all tobacco products across the country. The unit also generates nearly 6 per cent of the country’s total tax revenue, according to government figures.

In September, an official Juul online store briefly appeared on Chinese e-commerce sites run by Alibaba and JD.com, only to disappear days later. Juul and the retailers did not comment on the store’s abrupt takedown at the time. Alibaba also owns the South China Morning Post.

In a public statement, Relx said it would comply with the regulator’s notice and shut down its online sales channels. Snow+ also said it would comply with the regulations.

Alibaba and JD.com did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Over the past year, Walmart, Walgreens, and other American retailers have pulled e-cigarettes from their shelves, following a public health scare over their impact on minors.