National Health and Health Commission: Tobacco control is imperative, and plans to regulate e-cigarettes through legislation

According to the afternoon of July 22, the National Health Construction Committee said at the press conference that the “Healthy China Action” tobacco control plan is imperative. Mao Qun'an, director of the Planning Department of the National Health Construction Committee, said: “The National Health Construction Committee is currently working with relevant departments. Conduct research on e-cigarette supervision and plan to regulate e-cigarettes through legislation."

According to the results of the 2018 China Adult Tobacco Survey released by the China CDC, the current use rate of e-cigarettes in China is at a low level, but compared with 2015, the proportion of e-cigarettes that have been heard by the surveyed people has been used. The proportion of e-cigarettes and the proportion of e-cigarettes now used have increased.

At present, the main way of e-cigarettes is through online purchases. Studies have shown that the use of e-cigarettes can easily induce young people to try traditional cigarettes, which accelerates the younger trend of smoking. Mao Qun'an said that in order to achieve a decline in smoking rates, it is necessary to prevent young people from trying tobacco.

The supervision of the electronic cigarette industry can not only reduce the exposure of young people to e-cigarettes, but also formalize and legalize the entire industry. At present, the domestic e-cigarette market is complicated, and there is a big gap between product quality and safety industries.

In response to the tobacco control plan of “Healthy China”, in addition to controlling e-cigarettes, the State Council issued the opinions on “healthy China trips” and proposed comprehensive measures such as taxation and price adjustment to control tobacco. Mao Qun'an said that the possibility of adjusting the tax price will be discussed with relevant departments.