Smoking in China
In China, smoking and the sale of cigarettes is legally allowed, and they can be purchased online, but buying them from vending machines is not permitted. Importing cigarettes for trade is allowed with a license. However, there is a complete ban on all tobacco advertising, and health warnings on cigarette packaging are required. The minimum legal age for purchasing cigarettes is 18 years, and there are legal restrictions on smoking in public places as well. Cigarettes are subject to a total taxation rate of 52% with a specific excise component of 0.98%. As of 2024, China had an estimated 288.3 million current adult smokers, with an adult smoking prevalence of 24.4%. Among males, the smoking prevalence was 46.4%, and among females, it was only 1.9%. The number of daily smokers was approximately 256.9 million, with an adult daily smoking prevalence of 20.3%—38.6% among males and 1.3% among females. According to 2021 data, tobacco smoking caused about 2.7 million deaths in China—2.2 million among males and 490,700 among females. This presents that smoking accounted for 22.78% of all deaths in the country, including 31.81% of male deaths and 10.11% of female deaths.
Read articles from China
December 02, 2021 by reuters.com
China issues draft rules requiring e-cigarette firms obtain licences
China's tobacco regulator issued on Thursday draft rules governing e-cigarettes, moving the product away from a regulatory grey area and under the oversight of the state.
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration's draft rules follow China's cabinet last week amending its tobacco monopoly law to include e-cigarettes.
According to the draft rules, companies selling e-cigarettes in China must meet national standards in order to register with the tobacco authority and do business legally.
November 30, 2021 by jurist.org
China amends tobacco monopoly law to include e-cigarettes and vaping
The State Council of China amended its tobacco monopoly law Friday to include regulations for e-cigarettes and vaping. This result comes after months of deliberation by the Chinese government to regulate electronic tobacco consumption.
E-cigarette sales have been functioning in the grey area of the law since they became popular in China. Following the amendment, they will be regulated and supervised just like conventional tobacco products. The tobacco industry in China is fully controlled by the government. Companies and retailers have to obtain special permits before being allowed to sell tobacco products.
November 15, 2021 by koreaherald.com
Tobacco association to sue over e-cigarette taxes
The Korea Electronic Cigarette Association said it is planning to file a constitutional lawsuit over the tax rate on liquid e-cigarettes known as “dipping tobacco.”
The association argues the tax is 6.6 times higher than the rate applied to conventional cigarettes, despite it being less harmful. Unlike cigarettes, which are taxed per 20 sticks, dipping tobacco is taxed per gram. When converted into 20 pouches of dipping tobacco, which is roughly equivalent to 20 cigarettes, the tax is 19,000 won. The tax on 20 regular cigarettes is 2,885 won.
November 05, 2021 by taipeitimes.com
Taipei is first to use ordinance to ban e-cigarettes
The Taipei City Government on Wednesday became the nation’s first local government to pass a jurisdiction-wide ban on e-cigarettes via a self-government ordinance.
If the Executive Yuan ratifies the measure, the city would impose a broad-ranging prohibition on the sale, advertisement, display and commercial transportation of novel tobacco products, including vaping devices and heated tobacco units.
Additionally, vaping and using heated tobacco products is to be banned in a 50m zone around schools.
November 01, 2021 by taipeitimes.com
Consumer group finds drugs, vapes on Shopee
Consumer protection advocates on Tuesday issued an urgent call to revise regulations for tobacco and other products after it found that e-cigarettes and date-rape drugs can be easily purchased on Shopee.
An investigation by the Consumer Protection Association in Taiwan found multiple vendors on the Singapore-based site selling colorful candies as a cover for e-cigarettes.
Through these vendors, it is possible to buy an e-cigarette cartridge for only NT$150, or a full set with a heating element for NT$800, the association said.
Sellers have been adapting their tactics as the government debates the best way to regulate novel cigarette products through the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法).
October 21, 2021 by scmp.com
Hong Kong bans sale of e-cigarettes and other heated tobacco products but personal use still allowed
Lawmakers passed a long-delayed bill on Thursday banning the import and sale of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in Hong Kong, delivering a major victory for health activists and educators who have blamed the devices for encouraging smoking among young people.
While the new law targets the local business of vaping, people will still be free to use the gadgets, prompting some politicians to call for more aggressive measures to curb tobacco use, including banning smoking in all public places except for designated areas. [...]
September 02, 2021 by thestandard.com.hk
Hong Kong to expect a complete ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products
Hong Kong could see a complete ban on electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products soon, after the city’s largest party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, throws its support behind it.
DAB lawmaker Wong Ting-kwong, chairman of the Bills Committee on Smoking, said the government has asked him to host a meeting Friday next week, which would see the government finalize its stance on whether or not to ban all these new tobacco products.
August 05, 2021 by reuters.com
Shares in Chinese e-cigarette firms slide after state media report
Shares in Chinese vaping firms slid on Thursday after state media reported many minors are able to purchase e-cigarettes in the country despite a ban on sales to under-18s and cited an expert as saying a tougher crackdown was needed. Xinhua news agency 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.
August 04, 2021 by thestandard.com.hk
Push for total ban on e-ciggies
Authorities should ban both heat-not-burn tobacco and e-cigarettes, as it is misleading to say the former is healthier than the latter, Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health said.
The council said government statistics showed that teenagers in Hong Kong smoke heated tobacco more frequently than adults.
Council chairman Henry Tong Sau-chai said society has a strong consensus on a total ban on alternative smoking products.
"However, it has been almost three years since the policy address first announced a ban on alternative smoking products," he said.
July 07, 2021 by taipeitimes.com
E-cigarette use triples since 2018
E-cigarette use in Taiwan has tripled since 2018, a study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
E-cigarette use grew from 0.6 percent in 2018 to 1.7 percent last year, said the study, which last year garnered responses from 25,000 people aged 18 or older.
The age groups with the highest rates of use were men aged 26 to 30 (6.3 percent) and women aged 21 to 25 (4.6 percent), the HPA said.
“To put this growth into perspective, use of traditional cigarettes grew only marginally over this period, from 13 percent in 2018 to 13.1 percent in 2020,” HPA Tobacco Control Division official Lu Meng-ying (呂孟穎) said.