In our country, the law explicitly prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minors, which also includes e-cigarettes. Recently, a fruit-flavored e-cigarette has been easily purchased by minors through various hidden channels, and many children have become addicted to smoking. Where do these fruity e-cigarettes come from? And how does it flow into the market?

Fruity e-cigarettes are popular in high schools

There is even a phenomenon of comparison

Not long ago, Ms. Zhao in Beijing found an e-cigarette in her high school daughter's school bag. After inquiry, I learned that my daughter has been in contact with fruit-flavored e-cigarettes since the second year of junior high school and has been secretly smoking them for more than four years.

Ms. Zhao's daughter told reporters that half of her friends smoke fruit-flavored e-cigarettes behind their parents' backs. Lemon, strawberry, watermelon, she tried them all. At most, there are more than 10 e-cigarettes with various fruit flavors hidden in the school bag. And she first came into contact with e-cigarettes because of curiosity, "I think it's fun, the taste is very fragrant, my friends smoke it, and I'm also curious." ”

The reporter learned that in 2020 years, fruit-flavored e-cigarettes were very popular among some high school students, and even compared with each other.

　　2022年3月，国家明确禁止销售除烟草口味外的调味电子烟。然而，记者在上海、广东、湖南等地调查中发现，吸果味电子烟的中学生大有人在，只要不穿校服，都能轻易买到电子烟，甚至是调味电子烟。一些中学生从接触果‍味电子烟开始，慢慢开始吸普通香烟。

　　不少家长发现后非常气愤，并进行了投诉。“黑猫投诉”数据显示，2024年1月1日—2025年3月10日，以“电子烟”为关键词的总投诉量共350件，其中提及“未成年”“孩子”的占比达16%。投诉问题排第一的是非法出售，占比高达31%。

The seller hides in the comment area of the short video

Fruit emoji becomes a "code" for buying

In the comment area of a short video platform, the reporter found that a large number of accounts posted emojis such as strawberries, watermelons, and flowers in the messages, and Ms. Zhao's daughter told reporters that these contents seem to be normal replies, but in the eyes of consumers who smoke fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, this is equivalent to a sales "code".

The reporter randomly clicked on one of the accounts, and there was a WeChat number on the pop-up page, and through the number, the reporter added the other party's WeChat. During the exchange, the seller did not ask if the purchaser was a minor.

The reporter also investigated some e-commerce platforms, and the reporter entered the keyword "electronic cigarette" to search, and the webpage immediately popped up a warning reminder, but after replacing the keyword with the key component of electronic cigarettes, "atomizer" or "electronic atomization", a large number of sellers appeared on the platform instantly.

　　记者随机选择一个卖家发送消息，对方很快自动回复：想要电子烟加微信。在微信中，客服发来多张图片，并声称这些果味的电子烟产品都是外贸货，价格几十元到上百元不等，每天都能卖出一百多单。

The reporter randomly selected three different sellers to place orders, and a few days later, they received e-cigarette products with mango, pineapple and other flavors.

Offline purchase channels are hidden

In order to avoid supervision, online trading was transferred

At the same time as the e-commerce platform investigation, the reporter also investigated some e-cigarette shops or counters in Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places. At an e-cigarette sales booth in a shopping mall in Shanghai, when the reporter asked if there were fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, the salesperson was very vigilant and kept silent about many questions, just showing the reporter the pictures of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes in his mobile phone. After the reporter scanned the code to pay, the salesperson quickly left the counter and took the product from a hidden place.

Subsequently, the reporter came to another e-cigarette store, and when the reporter asked if there were fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, the salesperson proposed to add WeChat, saying that online transactions were relatively hidden and not easy to be detected by the regulatory authorities. The reporter contacted the sales staff through WeChat, and the seller finally delivered the goods in a flash way.

Fruit-flavored e-cigarettes that are banned

Why is there so much supply in the market?

The ban on the sale of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes in China has been implemented for nearly three years, and online stores and offline counters are still in supply.

Wang Zhenyu, deputy director of the Monopoly Supervision and Management Department of the Shenzhen Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, told reporters that there are generally two situations:

The products have been exported abroad, and some lawbreakers abroad have brought them to China through illegal smuggling in the form of personal carrying;

Some e-cigarettes are exported abroad, and some products remain in China through false customs declarations.

Subsequently, according to the clues provided by the reporter, the law enforcement officers of the Shenzhen Tobacco Monopoly Bureau inspected some offline e-cigarette sales stores, registered fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, and temporarily detained them, and the law enforcement officers will investigate the online source.

What are the dangers of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes for teenagers?

The reporter's investigation found that most of the fruit-flavored e-cigarettes on the market have a nicotine content between 5% and 0%. Experts say that smoking e-cigarettes for a long time can damage the cardiovascular system and respiratory system.

The dangers of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes don't stop there. Its biggest feature is that it has a variety of flavors, cool and fragrant, and many minors are obsessed with this taste, and they are not aware of the nicotine harm at all.

At present, there are also so-called "nicotine-free" products on the market, claiming to be "healthy and harmless". This product is highly similar in appearance to e-cigarettes, and the merchant claims that this is not an e-cigarette, but it can be used like smoking, with a large amount of fog and fruity flavor. Experts believe that these "nicotine-free" products are new variants of e-cigarettes, which will also have a psychological and behavioral impact on minors.

　　2024年4月，国家烟草专卖局《关于新型电子烟产品适用法律问题的批复》当中，对不含有烟碱成分，但全部或部分雾化为气溶胶供人抽吸等使用方式与电子烟近似的草本雾化产品，将按照电子烟管理，除非产品取得了药品和医疗器械注册。

Various national bans have been introduced one after another, trying to block the infringement of e-cigarettes on minors, but illegal businesses disregard the law and social responsibility in the face of interests, and must be severely cracked down!

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Source: China Youth Daily