China Drafts Guidelines for E-Cig Production

China’s tobacco regulator on Jan. 25 released draft rules for e-cigarette production, according to Reuters.

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration said it would “reasonably” control manufacturing to prevent overcapacity.

The regulator said it would ban foreign investment in domestic e-cigarette retail operations while reviewing foreign involvement in production, requiring vapor companies that want to list in China or abroad to obtain pre-approval.

China has in recent months been tightening its scrutiny of e-cigarettes, and last year amended its tobacco monopoly law to include vaping products. Since then, it instructed e-cigarette and vaping companies to sell their products only through authorized channels, and barred vendors from selling e-cigarette flavors other than tobacco.

Earlier this month, China unveiled technical standards for e-cigarettes and vaping products.

China’s cigarette industry operates under a state-run monopoly directly controlled by the STMA, which dictates pricing and distribution for brands and generates tax income for the government.