China issues draft rules on e-cigarettes

SHANGHAI: China's tobacco regulators issued draft rules on e-cigarettes on Thursday, 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.

A license from the tobacco authority must be granted to companies that are involved in the production of e-cigarettes, provided that they have the funds for production and a facility with equipment that meets standards.

The tobacco authority said it would establish a national electronic cigarette transaction management platform that all licensed e-cigarette wholesalers and retailers must sell products through.

The regulators wrote that the tax collection and payment of e-cigarettes must be implemented in accordance with the national tax laws and regulations.

In 2018 a lot of Chinese companies were manufacturing and selling nicotine salt-based e-cigarettes for the domestic market, following the success of similar products overseas.

In January of this year, RELX Technology went public in New York.

China's cigarette industry is under a state-owned monopoly that is controlled by the tobacco regulator, which dictates pricing and distribution for brands and generates tax income for the government.