Blue Hole New Consumption reported today
March 12 news, presumably engaged in the e-cigarette industry everyone knows two important news yesterday, we briefly summarize it.
The first major: the second draft of the national standard for electronic cigarettes began to solicit comments, and by the end of March 17, there are 6 days to feedback.
The second major: The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the "Administrative Measures for Electronic Cigarettes", including general provisions, production and quality management, sales management, import and export trade and foreign economic and technical cooperation, supervision and inspection, and supplementary provisions, a total of six chapters and forty-five articles, which stipulate the production, sales, transportation, import and export, supervision and management of electronic cigarettes in the territory of the People's Republic of China.
The Administrative Measures will take effect on May 1.
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued an official interpretation of this:
First, clarify the definition and supervision objects of e-cigarettes;
The second is to implement license management for the main body of e-cigarette production, wholesale and retail, and the e-cigarette license management does not establish a new type of administrative license, and only adds corresponding entries to the licensing scope of the tobacco monopoly production, wholesale and retail license;
The third is to implement channel management for e-cigarette sales, establish an e-cigarette transaction management platform, and standardize e-cigarette sales methods;
The fourth is to manage the quality of e-cigarette products throughout the process, and establish a technical review and tracking mechanism for e-cigarette products;
The fifth is to supervise the transportation and import and export of electronic cigarettes according to law.
Blue Hole carefully studied the two documents, and the details mentioned in them were highlighted and explained for everyone.
In order to facilitate everyone to clearly understand the core of supervision, we have summarized fifteen major points, and finally there are suggestions for e-cigarette practitioners.
In particular, because of the time relationship and the problem of information understanding, there may be misinterpretations, and if there is any deviation, the statement of the competent authority shall prevail.
Interpretation 1: After May 1, only tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products can be sold
The biggest impact of this policy release is the prohibition of tastes other than tobacco:
Minors should not be induced, and the characteristic flavor of the product should not be made to appear in flavors other than tobacco.
This standard corresponds to Article 26 of the Administrative Measures, which prohibits the sale of flavored e-cigarettes other than tobacco flavors and e-cigarettes that can be added to the atomization themselves.
According to the current information, it can be seen that the e-cigarette products sold in China will only have tobacco flavor in the future, and flavored e-cigarettes will be banned.
When the U.S. FDA introduced an e-cigarette ban two years ago, it retained the taste of tobacco and menthol, and other flavored products were also required to be removed from the shelves.
In contrast, the domestic e-cigarette supervision is stricter than the US supervision.
Interpretation 2: Open oil injection e-cigarettes and vending machines are prohibited
Article 26 of the Administrative Measures stipulates that the sale of e-cigarettes that can be added to the atomization by themselves is prohibited.
The last national standard draft for comment mentioned the issue of open e-cigarettes, but it is not very clear, and this rule directly prohibits the sale of open cigarettes, including large smoke and small equipment that can be injected with oil.
The introduction of this point of regulation may be related to the recent emergence of intensive domestic cannabis e-cigarettes, the lack of effective control, and the addition of atomization at will is indeed a problem.
Article 23 of the Administrative Measures stipulates that it is prohibited to use self-service sales methods such as vending machines to sell or covertly sell e-cigarette products.
This article belongs to the previous prohibition, this reservation, several domestic manufacturers have also stopped operating or transformation after the last document was introduced.
Interpretation 3: It is forbidden to hold various forms of promotion of electronic cigarette exhibitions, forums, and expositions
According to Article 21 of the Administrative Rules, the supervision and management of e-cigarette advertisements shall be governed by the provisions on tobacco advertisements in relevant laws, regulations and rules.
At the same time, it is forbidden to hold various forms of exhibitions, forums, and expositions to promote electronic cigarette products.
The previous version did not clearly stipulate such exhibitions, and the final version of the detailed rules clearly stipulates this, which will affect several exhibition organizers in the industry.
Interpretation 4: The listing of e-cigarette enterprises must be reviewed and approved by the tobacco authorities
Article 8 of the Administrative Measures shows that the establishment of e-cigarette production enterprises (including product production, agency processing, brand holding enterprises, etc.), atomization production enterprises and electronic cigarette nicotine production enterprises, etc., shall be reported to the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly under the State Council for review and approval before approval of the project in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
The initial public offering and listing of shares by an enterprise provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be reported to the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly under the State Council for examination and approval.
That is to say, the major enterprises of e-cigarettes, whether you are a foundry or a brand owner, if you want to go public in the future, you must first be reviewed and approved by the tobacco monopoly administrative department of the State Council before you can submit a listing application.
This means that it will be difficult for domestic e-cigarette companies to have listed companies, and the relevant regulations for e-cigarette companies that have been listed at present are not clearly stated, but we expect that they may face delisting, or take the form of asset replacement, such as replacing domestic assets with overseas assets to list, in order to avoid regulatory risks.
Interpretation five: Retail stores must not exclusively operate e-cigarette products
Article 20 of the Administrative Measures stipulates that e-cigarette product manufacturers and e-cigarette brand holding enterprises that have obtained tobacco monopoly licenses in accordance with the law shall sell e-cigarette products to e-cigarette wholesale enterprises through the e-cigarette trading management platform.
E-cigarette wholesale enterprises shall not provide e-cigarette products to units or individuals that do not have the qualifications to engage in e-cigarette retail business.
Enterprises or individuals that have obtained a tobacco monopoly retail license and are qualified to engage in e-cigarette retail business shall purchase e-cigarette products at local e-cigarette wholesale enterprises, and must not exclusively operate e-cigarette products for market sale.
We believe that this is a fatal blow to the current e-cigarette store system, and after the effective date, the store will not be able to sell only one e-cigarette product, thus transforming into a collection store business model for a variety of e-cigarette products.
This, on the other hand, also prevents monopolies and privileges.
Interpretation 6: Only for exporting electrical products that comply with the laws, regulations and standards of the exporting country
Articles 32 and 33 of the Administrative Measures stipulate matters related to the export of e-cigarettes.
Article 32: The packaging of electronic cigarette products for export shall comply with the requirements stipulated by the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly under the State Council.
Article 33: E-cigarette products that are not sold within the territory of China and are only used for export shall comply with the laws, regulations and standards of the destination country or region; if the destination country or region does not have relevant laws, regulations and standards, it shall comply with the relevant requirements of the mainland's laws, regulations and standards.
Blue Hole interpretation believes that after the regulation takes effect, the overseas export of e-cigarettes only needs to meet the requirements of the destination country or region, and if there is no relevant requirement, refer to the relevant standards of the mainland.
Here we believe that the product meets the relevant standards, rather than restricting the taste of the smoke bomb.
Interpretation 7: E-cigarettes circulating non-trading platforms are illegal
Article 23 of the Administrative Measures stipulates that no individual, legal person or other organization may sell e-cigarette products, atomizations and nicotine for e-cigarettes through information networks other than the e-cigarette trading management platform provided for in these Measures.
Blue Hole Interpretation believes that the circulation of all e-cigarettes must go through the transaction management platform, and other channels are illegal, that is to say, peer-to-peer information network sales such as micro-businesses will also be prohibited.
The root cause of the prevalence of micro-business is the chaotic and disorderly circulation of product shipments, resulting in a mixed situation in the market, and the circulation of wild distribution and fake goods has also exacerbated the concerns of regulatory authorities about product quality.
Interpretation 8: Private enterprises have determined that they have no access to e-cigarette wholesale licenses
Article 17 of the Administrative Measures stipulates that enterprises that have obtained a license for tobacco monopoly wholesale enterprises shall obtain the approval of the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly and change the scope of the license before engaging in the wholesale business of electronic cigarette products.
There is no new application for a wholesale license here, but a change in scope, which means that it is only open to enterprises with a tobacco monopoly wholesale enterprise license, and there is no application.
This also completely blocked the way for private enterprises to apply for wholesale licenses, which will have a major impact on the current e-cigarette countries such as No. 1 Machine, Tianyin Holdings and Hanlinhui.
Interpretation 9: The retail license of e-cigarettes must meet the requirements of the reasonable layout of retail outlets
Regarding the retail license issues that many shop owners are concerned about, Article 18 stipulates that those engaged in the retail business of electronic cigarettes shall apply to the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly to obtain a tobacco monopoly retail license or change the scope of the license in accordance with the law.
Among them, the most important condition is to meet the requirements of the reasonable layout of local e-cigarette retail outlets. This point depends on the specific situation of the tobacco authorities in various regions, whether it is compared with the layout of tobacco stores or compared with the layout of e-cigarette stores, the local government has flexible discretion.
In addition, electronic cigarette product sales outlets must not be set up around ordinary primary and secondary schools, special education schools, secondary vocational schools, specialized schools, and kindergartens.
If you are an e-cigarette shop at the above location, consult the local authorities as soon as possible.
Interpretation 10: E-cigarette delivery and carrying implement limited management
Article 24 stipulates that the transportation of electronic cigarette products, atomides, nicotine for electronic cigarettes, etc., shall be subject to the supervision of the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly.
The limit management of e-cigarette products, atomides, and nicotine for e-cigarettes shall be implemented for delivery and carrying in different places, and shall not exceed the limits prescribed by the relevant competent departments of the State Council.
We have reviewed the relevant tobacco regulations, if the e-cigarette refers to tobacco management, there will be a category in the quantity of e-cigarette products in the future, and there will be no restrictions on large-scale mailing as in the past, which also means that the micro-business form will no longer exist.
Some people may think that the provisions can be bypassed by distributing large quantities of products in batches, however, according to the provisions of the "Notice of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration on the Resumption of The Mailing Business of Tobacco and Its Products", users mailing tobacco and its products are limited to one piece per person at a time, and multiple pieces are not allowed to be mailed. The post and telecommunications departments should strengthen the inspection of receipt and delivery, prevent the practice of sending more than one piece or multiple times, and strictly encapsulate mail to ensure the safety of transportation.
This shows that the practice of multiple mailing in batches is not a legal and compliant operation method, and it is likely to be dissuaded and even punished.
Interpretation 11: Solid-state electronic cigarettes are also applicable to the management measures for electronic cigarettes
Article 43 stipulates that heated cigarettes are included in the management of cigarettes. Other new tobacco products shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of these Measures.
Heated cigarettes here refer to heated non-combustible products, with reference to the relevant provisions of cigarette management, other new tobacco products, we understand that heating non-burning non-tobacco products, that is, solid electronic cigarettes, also applicable to electronic cigarette management measures.
Interpretation 12: Are zero nibs and herbs gone or not regulated in this law?
One of the biggest uncertain understandings of the national standard and e-cigarette management measures is the supervision of zero nicotine and herbal atomization products.
The national standard for electronic cigarettes mentions that the atomization should contain nicotine.
Atomide is defined as a mixture and auxiliary substance that can be atomized in whole or in part by an electronic device into an inhalable aerosol.
According to this definition, zero nib and herb atomization also belong to nebulization, but these two types of products do not contain nicotin, how to interpret it?
People who believe that zero ni and herb atomization are gone believe that such products that do not contain nicotine cannot be produced, mainly based on the fact that "nebulization should contain nicotine", if not, it cannot be produced.
People who believe that zero nib and herbal atomization are not regulated by this law believe that only e-cigarette products containing nicotine are the object of supervision, do not contain nicotine, and do not comply with the supervision of this law.
The national standard defines e-cigarettes as an electronic transmission system used to produce aerosols for people to smoke, etc.
Electronic cigarette smoking equipment refers to a device that uses tobacco liquid and other methods such as atomization for people to smoke, suck, chew or snort.
Today's zero ni and herbal atomization heating appliances are consistent with electronic cigarettes, but the appliances are included in the electronic cigarette supervision methods, so there is also a conflict in this regard.
Therefore, in the future, such products can not use words related to electronic cigarettes.
Blue Hole interviewed the CEOs of both brands, both of whom believed that zero ni and herb atomization were gone, based on the idea that "nebulization should contain nicotine"
Tobacco expert Li Youqiang told Blue Hole that he prefers to understand that the above two types of products are not included in the supervision of e-cigarettes.
Blue Hole is biased towards Li Youqiang's point of view, that is, the above two types of products do not belong to the scope of e-cigarette supervision because they do not contain nicotine.
In the end, the interpretation of the competent authorities shall prevail.
Interpretation 13: Is the e-cigarette quota system coming?
For the quota of e-cigarettes, has always become a hot topic in the spread of the jianghu, the e-cigarette supervision measures have not mentioned the relevant information?
Let's look at Article 12: Tobacco monopoly products such as tobacco leaves (including remanufactured tobacco leaves and tobacco stems), re-cured tobacco leaves, tobacco shreds and other tobacco monopoly products used by e-cigarette product production enterprises, e-cigarette brand holding enterprises, nebulous chemical production enterprises, e-cigarette production enterprises, etc. shall be purchased from tobacco enterprises that have the right to operate tobacco, re-cured tobacco leaves, tobacco shreds, etc., and shall not illegally purchase tobacco, re-cured tobacco leaves, tobacco and other tobacco monopoly products and tobacco waste. The competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly under the State Council shall issue a purchase and sale plan for tobacco, re-cured tobacco, tobacco and other tobacco monopoly products.
Li Youqiang believes that adding red parts may mean that there will be a quota system, such as how much production capacity is purchased and sold each year, how much e-cigarettes are distributed, and the competent departments of the State Council will consider it as a whole.
Interpretation 14: New crackdown on infringement of intellectual property rights
Article 34 of the new Supervision Measures mentions that the competent administrative department for tobacco monopoly shall supervise and inspect the implementation of these Measures in accordance with the law, investigate and deal with cases of violation of these Measures, and work with relevant departments to investigate and deal with the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy electronic cigarette products, atomides and nicotine for electronic cigarettes, as well as infringement of intellectual property rights, illegal operation, smuggling and other acts.
The protection of intellectual property rights has been added here, which we interpret as strengthening the protection of original products.
Interpretation 15: What does banning the taste of tobacco mean to you
As soon as the two documents were released, the main concerns of practitioners focused on the issue of only selling tobacco flavors, and whether there was a transitional sales inventory after the implementation of May 1.
Can only sell tobacco flavors, how much impact will it have on e-cigarette companies?
Blue Hole interviewed several E-cigarette brand CEOs who did not want to be named, and after stopping the seasoning cigarette bomb, it is expected to have an impact of 50% to 70% on existing shipments, that is, the proportion of seasoning shipments is currently very large.
Blue Hole interviewed several e-cigarette shop owners, and among the cigarette bombs sold daily to the outside world, almost rarely sell tobacco-flavored smoke bombs, which can be said to account for more than 90% of the sales of flavored products.
If after May 1, only tobacco flavored e-cigarettes can be sold, which may mean that e-cigarette stores can only close their doors, which will not be able to support the current user demand.
Blue Hole saw in a store's one-month sales that the first place was watermelon, with sales of 5616 pieces, the second was mung beans, the third was mint, and tobacco ranked only 27th, with sales of only 990.
It can be seen that only tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes can be sold, which has a great impact on e-cigarette stores.
Unlike the general pessimistic mood of store owners, the mood of e-cigarette brands is quite optimistic.
One CEO said that compared with uncertain regulatory policies, it is always good news that regulation is now fully determined, and it is better to make various plans as early as possible than to cross the river by feeling the stones.
Another CEO said that although it can only sell tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, it is currently possible to see that the sales channels may be opened, such as entering the stores of the whole industry, which is much more than the previous own channels.
But another CEO said that in the future, all e-cigarette stores are tobacco flavors, testing the research and development strength of enterprises, and when they cannot choose other flavors, consumers may be forced to turn to research on tobacco tastes.
Two HNB non-tobacco companies told Blue Hole that the main sale is still tobacco flavor, the new regulatory regulations have little impact, and another said that it may stop products such as mint, blueberries and roses, and the specific need to communicate again.
Blue Hole suggests: Hoard goods should be done according to their ability, and insist on obtaining documents
From May 1, the e-cigarette management measures will be implemented, that is, the transition period is over, it is foreseeable that the national standard for e-cigarettes will also take effect before May 1, various licenses will also be settled before May 1, and compliant products will begin to circulate from May 1.
The converse means that there are still 50 days left, and the shopkeepers need to think carefully about their inventory and whether to continue to do it.
For goods, we recommend doing what we can, no stud, not all in hoarding, do a good job of risk management and their own ability to judge, you can hoard a little, but be sure to clear it before May 1, otherwise it may be illegal business.
For whether to continue to open a store, this period of time will be a critical moment for each family to face rent renewal, whether to renew the rent, whether to continue to sell e-cigarettes, we recommend that you resist, if it is not force majeure reasons can not operate, you must wait until the new regulations take effect, and apply for e-cigarette retail license.
If you lose another year, you can lose three years in the front.
Unless it is because of the layout problem, it is not allowed to operate, which is no problem, but now that the well has been dug to 9999 meters, there is still a difference of 1 meter to the permit, but it can not be abandoned halfway.
Besides, in case the users of e-cigarettes understand you very well and cannot choose flavored e-cigarettes, then understand that everyone chooses the taste of tobacco, which is not necessarily true, and now these e-cigarette users can be empathetic, and they will understand more and more that they do not inhale tar, and smoke what taste.
It's been three years of ups and downs, and another year can be done.
Be sure to close later than the Blue Hole, so you'll have enough confidence to laugh: Look, the Blue Hole closes first.
But we are determined that we will continue to move forward with the industry and you, do not worry about us.
We also recommend that you put your mind at ease, embrace change, and embrace regulation.
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