Before talking about e-cigarettes, let’s talk about the US Prohibition Order.
January 17, 1920, just after zero, people dressed in costumes began to sing and dance. In the dance floor, people writhed their bodies in excitement. But the strange thing is that it is difficult to stagger the past in such a grand dance party.
This is a scene from the Atlantic Empire. This American drama depicts the American society in the 1920s in the context of the Prohibition. It seems that the Prohibition is good enough to avoid male domestic violence after drinking alcohol and to subsidize the purchase of alcohol.
But after the ban was promulgated, the private liquor market was rampant, and the US social crime rate rose sharply. The government’s stability and investment costs have skyrocketed, and financial taxes have been extremely costly. In the end, the ban was abolished in 1933 and became a thought-provoking case in history.
If demand exists, it will only make the supply that meets these needs go underground. And this scene is happening again on this American continent.
The latest US data show that illegal e-cigarette products containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) have caused more than 2,000 hospitalizations, and regular nicotine e-cigarettes have been killed. In the United States, San Francisco, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts and other places have issued regulations to ban e-cigarettes, but local supervision began to clear all e-cigarette stores, and hundreds of thousands of people are facing unemployment.
Like the prohibition of the year, the one-size-fits-all approach caused great confusion to the US e-cigarette market. But the other side of the ocean is another scene.
On November 1, the State Administration of Market Supervision and the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau jointly issued an announcement stating that it would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes and define e-cigarettes as “additions to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes”. Declare “power outage”.
The current domestic electronic cigarette penetration rate is only 1%, far lower than the US’s more than 13%. The announcements of the two ministries are obviously not conflated with the US ban. On the contrary, it is more like avoiding the “prohibition of wine-making tragedy” and moving towards the beginning of positive guidance.
After the announcement, many domestic e-cigarette brands responded quickly and expressed their firm support and implementation of the e-cigarette online embargo decision. E-cigarette companies such as Yueteng quickly launched their own e-commerce offline, and third-party e-commerce platforms also Has been removed.
An industry that has a double vision. On the one hand, the sword of Damocles hanging over the head for many years falls, while on the other hand, it is actively conducting positive guidance. Will the difference between China and the United States lead to different industrial development directions?
01 US e-cigarette out of control
In fact, the current e-cigar storm in the United States has been shrouded in fog.
First of all, what is the patient with lung disease? Is it an electronic cigarette?
As of November 7, 49 countries have found 2051 cases of e-cigarette related diseases. However, none of the cases so far have been identified as being associated with legal nicotine e-cigarette products.
Recently, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the FDA’s latest announcement have clearly stated: “Illegal e-cigarette products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have played a role in the case of harm.” /p>
New York University professor David Abram also said in an interview with CBS CBS.
“All evidence indicates that the cannabis oil used by more than 500 patients with lung disease is illegally manufactured and is a street drug that has nothing to do with e-cigarettes sold under legal channels.“
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the key components of cannabinoids and is readily soluble in most organic solvents, especially lipids. Vitamin E is added when making smoke oil. However, when vitamin E is inhaled into the lungs, it will cool down and return to lipids. After a large amount of accumulation, it will lead to lipid pneumonia. Almost all patients in the United States suffer from this disease.
The legal e-cigarette does not add THC to the fumes, only open-type oiling products can be used. Patients with lung disease do not smoke e-cigarettes, but use the tools of e-cigarettes to smoke marijuana.
Reuters reported on October 14 that John Britton, a professor and professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Nottingham and director of the British Tobacco and Alcohol Research Center, said that the case of lung disease in the United States is unique and has not been illegally added in the UK and elsewhere.It is rare in areas where products are added.
In the face of the different policies of the states on cannabis control, it is clear that cutting off e-cigarettes across the board is not a cure.
Second, what do the teenagers smoke? Is it an electronic cigarette?
A survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States earlier this year showed that among the 16-18 year olds in the United States, the proportion of smokers who smoked e-cigarettes exceeded 30%; the number of American teenagers who smoked e-cigarettes More than 4 million.
What caused e-cigarettes to be so popular among teenagers? Time magazine has clearly pointed out that one of the root causes is the rise of Juul, which adopted a strategy of condoning young people in the early stages of development.
Like the appearance of Juul. Different from the early electronic cigarettes, most of them simulate the cigarette cylinder type. Juul’s long strip shape is similar to the U disk, which is novel enough to avoid contact with cigarettes. It greatly satisfies the young people’s pursuit of trends, and is hidden in school bags and desks. demand.
Reuters interviewed Juul’s former manager in a report on November 5th, stating that Juul deliberately ignored the signs that early e-cigarettes began to attract young people. One of the details mentioned is that after Juul entered the market in 2015, he began to receive calls from teenagers asking where to buy more Juul products.
Someone advocates immediate steps to curb Juul’s popularity among teenagers, but co-founder James Moncis believes that Juul should not be accused of teen nicotine addiction, and Juul does not intend to promote or sell products to teenagers. .
In other words, under Juul’s connivance, e-cigarettes have become a “cool” symbol for American teenagers.
The US e-cigarette is now out of control?
In the early days of development, he allowed his barbaric growth, and it was not until the situation lost control that he began to make up for the iron fist.
In fact, as early as January this year, an academic report has determined that THC can cause serious respiratory illness. In 21 similar cases in California, the THC liquid purchased by the black market was used without exception.
To date, the United States has not yet developed a policy on the proliferation of THC. For e-cigarettes, the problem of prevalence among young people has been turned a blind eye for many years.
A year after Juul went public, the FDA introduced e-cigarettes into traditional tobacco control; it even went directly to the secondary school campus to promote nicotine addiction knowledge to promote e-cigarettes. But all this has only recently caused the weight of the US government.Vision.
But for the ban on the United States, opposition from all walks of life continues to rise. Michelle Minton, Senior Research Fellow and Policy Analyst, Washington Competitive Enterprise Association, commented on the US ban:
“A comprehensive ban not only fails to improve public health issues, but also exposes consumers to greater risks.”
In her view, the ban will force people to return to the embrace of traditional cigarettes, or buy different flavors of e-cigarette products through the black market, or even THC smoky oil, which may eventually cause more people to be harmed by smoking or using illegal products.
As of 2018, the US e-cigarette market penetration rate is as high as 13%, accounting for 43% of global e-cigarette sales. If the e-cigarette ban is not resolved as soon as possible, most of them will embark on the old road of the prohibition.
02 “Alternative Way” for Chinese Electronic Cigarettes
Why do I say that there will be no tragedy in the country?
It is very intuitive. So far, there has not been a case of e-cigarette disease in China, and the overall situation is still under control. There are many reasons for this, and these may affect the development of the domestic e-cigarette industry.
First, there is no soil invaded by THC in China;
In English, smoking e-cigarettes is not called smoking, but has a proper noun vaping, derived from the word “atomization”. What is reflected behind is the difference in e-cigarette consumption between China and the United States.
Why does the United States explode a large number of lung disease epidemics caused by THC? It is because the market has risen in the era of “big smoke”, and for a long time it has precipitated a strong “vaper culture” and is used by addicts.
The so-called “big smoke” is the open oil-filled electronic cigarette mentioned above. Players in the circle are keen to discuss different heating wire winding methods, the combination of oil storage and drip atomizer, and the proportion of smoke oil, showing different tastes.
The multi-year accumulated consumption base, coupled with the relatively complex cannabis control in the United States, has caused an outbreak of lung disease today.
Not at home. Shenzhen has mastered 90% of the global production of e-cigarettes, but early orders were mainly exported. Take McQuay as an example. In 2017 and earlier, its overseas order stations once accounted for 99.99%.
In the country, although there were vaper circles in the early days, the relatively high price and difficulty of getting started made it difficult to form a trend. In addition, China’s significant investment in anti-drugs over the years has also made it impossible for ordinary people to access such cigarette oils as THC.
In other words, the degree of industrial development and China’s anti-drug efforts have eliminated the public health crisis similar to the US lung disease epidemic from the source.
Second, domestic e-cigarette consumption starts from “smoke”;
The “smoke” that really opened up the Chinese e-cigarette market is completely different from Juul’s growing environment.
Compared with the “big smoke” of players who are paying attention to playability, Xiaoyan is targeting the group of smokers who are “harming”. This consumer market began in 2018 with a wave of intensive financing and a cross-border outbreak of a group of consecutive entrepreneurs.
For example, McVewell mentioned above manages and operates a four-storey, 20,000-square-meter exclusive factory with the latter because of its strong domestic growth last year.
In August last year, the State Administration of Markets and the State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau jointly issued the Notice on Prohibiting the Sale of Electronic Cigarettes to Minors. The brands not only put an end to Juul’s “Youth Route”, but also took the initiative to actively respond.
For example, Yuetze proposed the “Guardian Program”: Resolutely prohibit the sale and marketing of electronic cigarette products to minors. Adults should avoid using electronic cigarettes in front of minors; Magic Flute proposed “MOTI is cool, not as good as The slogan of not smoking cool.
After November 1st, domestic regulatory actions began to gradually become more frequent. First, the notice urged online bans, and then checked the e-commerce platform and content platform one by one. The e-cigarette brands did not appear to be similar to Juul’s high-level turmoil and layoffs for the winter. situation.
Regulatory and timely, corporate cooperation, the domestic e-cigarette industry can avoid Juul’s tragedy. The sword of Damocles, which is engraved with “protecting underage”, is expected to disappear under the efforts of all parties.
03 Rational guest to watch “harm reduction”
If you have the patience to sort out the e-cigarette report for the past year, the most frequently occurring title must be something like:
“Is electronic cigarette harmful?”, “Is electronic cigarette safe?”
This reflects that