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Backed by China’s more than 300 million smokers and trillions of tobacco markets, as a substitute for traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes can be called one of the hottest consumer goods in recent years.

But now, various questions and restrictions on e-cigarettes are coming in more and more.

According to Euromonitor statistics, in 2018, China’s e-cigarette market reached 5.152 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%. In 2012-2018, the annual compound growth rate of the e-cigarette market reached about 35%.

What is e-cigarette?

As a new type of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes are mainly divided into two types: heating non-burning electronic cigarettes and smoke oil-type electronic cigarettes.

Among them, the heating non-burning electronic cigarette represented by IQOS produced by the world’s largest tobacco company, Altria Group, relies on electronic components to heat the tobacco raw materials under precise temperature control. Smoke of tobacco scented. By avoiding combustion, the intake of toxic substances in traditional cigarettes such as tar and carbon monoxide is greatly reduced. However, as the tobacco bombs belong to tobacco products, sales are currently prohibited in China in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

The e-cigarette containing nicotine or perfume solution is atomized into a smoke-absorbing e-cigarette that can be used for smoking. It is the current mainstream e-cigarette type in China, and it is classified as disposable after being used according to reusability. Electronic cigarettes, one-time cartridge electronic cigarettes that only replace cartridges, and oil-filled electronic cigarettes.

Since the first e-cigarette was born in China in 2003, e-cigarettes were closely tied to “smoking cessation”. In the early years of the failure of domestic development, the electronic cigarettes forced to go out to the sea were unexpectedly attracted by the European and American markets and the global tobacco giants, which in turn pushed the second climax of e-cigarettes in China since 2014.

With the dual promotion of vape culture and the function of “reducing smoke”, e-cigarettes have a broader audience and universality than traditional cigarettes. However, due to the nature of its tobacco products, as the electronic cigarettes “out of the circle”, the risks of policy control and excessive publicity are gradually emerging.

The world is under control, and the electronic cigarette is “to the dark moment”?

In 2018, e-cigarette sales reached US$5.6 billion. As the world’s highest electronic cigarette penetration rate and the largest market in the United States, it has been regarded as the weather vane and barometer of the e-cigarette market. But recently, the public opinion and market environment of e-cigarettes in the United States have continued to be cold.

After September 20, after Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, announced the suspension of e-cigarettes, on October 8, the largest chain drugstore operator in the United States, Walgreens, and the Bozi Group and supermarket giant Kroger also announced on Monday. These products will be discontinued.

In fact, the cold weather of e-cigarettes in the US retail channel has long been a sign. According to media reports, on October 3, local time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 1080 cases of e-cigarette-related lung diseases, and 18 people were confirmed to have died. The situation has been “very worrying”, but the specific cause of the disease is still not determine.

On the other hand, the US Federal Trade Commission FTC has also investigated six e-cigarette companies including JUUL (the world’s largest e-cigarette brand) and asked the latter to submit to it including sales, advertising, social media operations. Marketing information and data, etc.

According to Xinhua News Agency, in 2018, more than 3.6 million middle school students in the United States smoked e-cigarettes, a surge of 1.5 million from 2017. With the ban on bans in San Francisco, Michigan, New York, and Montana, the White House has also announced a ban on sales of flavored e-cigarettes.

Being paradoxical and regulatory pressure, on September 25, local time, Juul announced that it would stop advertising all TV, online and paper media products in the US. At the same time, Juul CEO Kevin Burns announced his departure, by Former former executive Klaus Witt took over.

The ban on the production and sale of electronic cigarettes is spreading globally. As of September, 190 countries and regions around the world have introduced e-cigarette related control measures. After Brazil and Thailand, on September 22, India also issued a ban on e-cigarettes. It is reported that the ban covers the production, import, transportation, sale and advertising of electronic cigarettes in India, but does not include the use of electronic cigarettes. Offenders may face up to three years in prison.

In China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has completely banned e-cigarettes, and Chengdu has also drafted the “Chengdu Public Places Control of Smoking Regulations (Revised Draft)”. In the draft, electronic smoking has been clearly classified as smoking. Will be constrained. In the latest implementation of the “Control of Tobacco Order” in Shenzhen, it is also explicitly included in the scope of tobacco control.

The National Standards Program “Electronic Cigarette”, which was established in October 2017, has entered the “approved” status after two years of project cycles, or will be officially released in October.

E-cigarette entrepreneurship is hot in China.

Only three months ago, e-cigarettes were still hot domestic venture capital and capital.This air outlet.

According to the incomplete statistics of “ec Electronic Cigarette World”, the number of electronic cigarette industry investment cases in the first half of 2019 exceeded 35. According to the disclosed investment statistics, the total investment of the electronic cigarette industry has exceeded at least 10 100 million yuan.

Image Source: Network

E-cigarettes have been popular in the country as an entrepreneurial project, and it is almost a definite path.

According to the survey released by Zhiyan Consulting, the global e-cigarette market reached US$12 billion, of which the overseas market accounted for 94%. Among them, the US electronic cigarette penetration rate is the highest, reaching 31%, while China’s current electronic cigarette penetration rate is less than 1%. If calculated by 10% penetration rate, the market size will reach 100 billion.

In December last year, Juul, which only sold 70% of the US e-cigarette market in just four years, was acquired by US tobacco giant Altria for $12.8 billion, with a valuation of $38 billion.

What is even more exciting is that although China is not the largest consumer market for e-cigarettes, it is the capital of e-cigarette production, accounting for more than 90% of global e-cigarette production, and 87.9% of global e-cigarette patents (as of 2018). August of the year). As the largest electronic cigarette production base, Shenzhen has more than 500 electronic cigarette manufacturers.

Either way, the future of e-cigarettes in China is extremely attractive. A good “Qian Jing” has attracted countless entrepreneurs to compete.

In January 2019, Cai Yuedong, the founder of “Uncle of the Same Road” and He Chang, the founder of “Huang Taiji”, co-founded the electronic cigarette brand “YOOZ”. Once the product was launched, the sales amount reached 5 million yuan within 24 hours.

The chairman of the “Uncle of the same road” Zhang Jinyuan also aimed at the electronic cigarette business. The alliance includes Li Yan, Chairman of WeMedia, Zeng Hang, the founder of Junwu, and the founder of the five heads of the new media, including Sha Xiaopi, the founder of Visual Vision. The big V who covered over 10 million WeChat fans founded the e-cigarette brand. “Spiritual LINX”.

The same is true for electronic cigarettes, including Luo Yonghao, the founder of Hammer Technology. In April, Luo Yonghao was exposed as a co-founder and joined the “Ono E-cigarette” founded by Peng Jinzhou, former president of Hammer Technology. Previously, Luo Yonghao also built a “FLOW e-cigarette” for the hammer 001 employee Zhu Xiaomu at the hammer conference.

From the niche culture circle to becoming the focus of venture capital, and then by the trend of online red, celebrity endorsements and music festivals, e-cigarettes quicklyOut of the circle.

After the craze, Cheng also promoted, defeated and promoted

From the early days of DIY modulation of smoke oil and the practice of smoking e-cigarettes and other e-cigarette enthusiasts (or e-cigarette players) to become mass consumer goods, e-cigarettes can be separated from sub-cultural groups, their functional and cultural attributes Great contribution.

From birth, it is closely related to the function of “smoking cessation”. As an alternative product, e-cigarettes have harvested a large number of smokers with the “addictive” attributes and “health” of tobacco.

Declaring the reduction of carcinogenic tar, carbon monoxide and nitrous acid in traditional tobacco by atomization rather than burning. E-cigarettes are the most humane, which can reduce the harm of traditional smoking by more than 90%, thus achieving the so-called “health” purpose.

In addition, under the indoor smoking ban, e-cigarettes claiming no second-hand smoke hazard have become a new choice for many heavy smokers when the current regulations are close to blank.

But actually?

According to the latest research from New York University, e-cigarette smoke can cause lung cancer and potential bladder cancer in mice, damage their genes, and conclude that e-cigarette smoke may be “very harmful” to humans.

Although the traditional tobacco burning is circumvented, the atomized electronic cigarette can not avoid high temperature heating, and there is no relevant confirmation for the metal components of the electronic cigarette at high temperature and whether the smoke oil produces toxic and harmful substances.

As for quitting smoking, nicotine, which is the core of the cigarette addiction mechanism, is also the key to making e-cigarettes close to the true smoke. It can be said that the more you can approach and replace the real smoke, the more you can stop smoking. As the earliest e-cigarette brand, the “Ruyan” that was born in 2003 was exposed to CCTV because of the false propaganda of smoking cessation.

In order to make the market more acceptable, e-cigarette manufacturers have made diversified attempts in taste. Different fruit flavors make e-cigarettes look more like an electronic toy or food than a high-grade one. Addictive regulated goods.

Image Source: Beijing News

With the lowering of the smoking threshold, young people attracted by the “trend culture” and “fun” of e-cigarettes have almost ruined the anti-smoking control efforts promoted by administrative orders in the past few decades.

In China, the problem of e-cigarettes is even more serious. According to the investigation report released by Zhiyan Consulting, the e-commerce channel in China’s e-cigarette sales channelsIt accounts for an absolute proportion of 56%, which is completely related to traditional tobacco sales channels.

Image Source: Zhiyan Consulting

A considerable portion of e-cigarettes sold through e-commerce platforms have entered the hands of young people. According to a recent survey conducted by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the use rate of e-cigarettes in China’s 15-24 age group is 1.5%, and 45.4% of users purchase e-cigarettes through Internet channels.

Juul, who used to be on Tmall and Jingdong, was quietly removed after only one week after causing widespread concern.

Ali said that since October 10, the electronic cigarettes and accessories on the Ali e-commerce platform will no longer be displayed to US buyers. For the domestic market, Taobao has also issued the “electronic cigarette control notice”: electronic cigarettes can not falsely promote smoking cessation, clear lung and detoxification, Taobao will begin to control from September 28.

In the indoor smoking ban, the margins of tobacco banned by minors, many problems arising from e-cigarettes have reached the point that has to be resolved, and the global ban on e-cigarettes is just beginning.

If you lose the “health”, “trend” and other labels, can you “fly up” if you are included in the regulated e-cigarette?