Last Wednesday, the “Henan Provincial Patriotic Health Regulations” on the “control smoking” related content was amended in China, which clearly clarifies that smoking (including electronic cigarettes) is prohibited in urban public places, indoor areas of workplaces and public transportation.
After encountering the “sternest announcement” in the e-cigarette industry, e-cigarettes have received policy-level attention in Henan province. What is the development of this vape industry now? What is your opinion in the industry?
Is there a company that stipulates smoking fines but cannot manage electronic cigarettes?
Liu Wei (pseudonym)’s company stipulates that smoking is not allowed in office premises, and offenders are fined 200 yuan. Although the fine made the traditional cigarettes disappear in the office, the electronic cigarettes came. Liu Wei said that they sometimes have a long meeting time, and some colleagues smoke a few mouthfuls of e-cigarettes. Because there are no specific regulations, smoking is not allowed. There is no penalty.
On June 3, the eighteenth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Provincial People’s Congress voted to pass the “Decision of the Standing Committee of the Henan Provincial People’s Congress on the Amendment of the “Henan Provincial Population and Family Planning Regulations” and other eight local regulations.” Among them, the content of “Controlling Smoking” in Article 16 of the “Patriot Health Regulations of Henan Province” was amended to clarify that smoking (including electronic cigarettes) is prohibited in indoor areas of urban areas, indoor areas of workplaces and public transportation.
In addition, the “Regulations on Smoking Prohibition in Public Places in Zhengzhou City” have also been revised to clarify that indoor public places are banned from smoking. It also stipulates that in areas where smoking is prohibited, Zhengzhou and district health administrative departments shall order immediate corrections and may impose a fine of RMB 50; those who refuse to correct shall be fined RMB 200.
Some e-cigarette brands have opened more than 80 specialty stores in Zhengzhou a year
Xiao Zhou opened an e-cigarette store in Shenglong Plaza, Jinshui, Zhengzhou. After opening in May 2019, in addition to the average sales in the first month, the monthly sales have greatly increased since then. In October of that year, The monthly sales are RMB 89,000.
According to the company’s search data, in 2015, there were a total of 11,000 new e-cigarette-related enterprises in China, 18,000 in 2017, and 30,000 in 2019.
At the same time, the e-cigarette storefront in Zhengzhou is also developing rapidly. Taking the brand that Xiao Zhou joined as an example, the number of specialty stores in Zhengzhou has grown to more than 80 in a year.
Wang Qiang (pseudonym) who distributes a certain brand of e-cigarettes said, “The end of 2018 to the beginning of November 2019 is a’high-gloss moment’ in the development of e-cigarettes.”
Xiao Zhou and Wang Qiang’s feelings are also consistent with the capital market in the same period. It is understood that since the second half of 2018, at least 20 e-cigarette companies nationwide have received more than 30 rounds of financing.
The current e-cigarette market is affected by epidemics and policies
In November 2019, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration issued the Notice on Further Protecting Minors from Electronic Cigarettes, urging e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers to close websites related to e-cigarette marketing and sales. .
Some insiders said that before this, industry relied heavily on the Internet’s online sales model, after the announcement, they had to transform offline.
For example, an industry insider who operates a number of e-cigarette physical stores said that there are no clear regulations at the policy level, coupled with the blow of the epidemic, he is ready to switch careers.
Hope to introduce the “national standard” of electronic cigarettes to regulate and control the industry
However, many people are optimistic about the development of vape industry.
Xiao Zhou calculated an account: his own weekly spending on e-cigarettes is 200 yuan, which is of a medium level. There are currently 50,000 or 60,000 e-cigarettes in Zhengzhou. This is calculated. Every year, only the scale of e-cigarettes in the Zhengzhou market, there are more than 500 million yuan sales.
Speaking of the views on the future of the industry, Xiao Zhou said that e-cigarettes have low barriers to entry and high profits, but the lack of industry standards has caused uneven product quality and the market flooded with inferior products.
There are many e-cigarette practitioners who share the same ideas with Xiao Zhou. They are very optimistic about the market prospects of e-cigarettes and hope that some industry standards will be introduced at the national level to regulate the product standards.
