Illegal-Sought E-cigarettes Trend Among Chinese Teenagers

On the 24th, a number of Chinese media, including Gwangmyeong Network, Chinese Network and CCTV (China Central TV), reported, “The sale of cigarettes, including e-cigarettes to minors, is prohibited by law, but fruit-flavored e-cigarettes are secretly distributed and popular among high school students.” Zhao, who lives in Beijing, who has a high school daughter, said in an interview with CCTV, “I found an e-cigarette while organizing her daughter’s school bag. I couldn’t understand how her daughter, who hated the smell of cigarettes, touched it.”

Zhao’s daughter said she has been smoking e-cigarettes without her parents knowing since she was in second grade. “Half of my classmates smoke fruit-flavored e-cigarettes without my parents knowing,” she said, explaining that they have various flavors such as lemon, strawberry, and watermelon. “It tastes fresh and cool. It doesn’t smell like cigarettes at all,” she said, adding, “I started to eat it out of curiosity.” According to reports, e-cigarettes have spread among Chinese students since 2020. Even middle school students can easily get their hands on e-cigarettes if they don’t wear school uniforms in Shanghai, Guangdong, and Hunan. A middle school student said on CCTV, “More than half of my friends smoke fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.”

CCTV also reported that they found “secret codes” of consumers who smoke e-cigarettes on WeChat, a social network service in China. The sales are being made on some accounts that post numerous emoticons including strawberries, watermelons, and flowers on WeChat. “A few days after adding one account as a friend, I was able to receive various e-cigarettes including mangoes and pineapples,” CCTV said. “The seller didn’t even check if the buyer was underage.” E-cigarettes were also available on some e-commerce platforms. If you search for the keyword “e-cigarette,” you get a “warning” message, but when you search for keywords such as atomizer that make up e-cigarettes, you get a lot of sellers. Prices range from tens to hundreds of yuan. More than 100 orders are placed every day.

The Chinese authorities also say that it is difficult to regulate such illegal distribution. “It appears that products exported overseas were illegally smuggled in or the products were siphoned off through false customs reports,” said Wan Wei, deputy director of the exclusive supervision and management department of the Shenzhen tobacco distribution bureau.

CCTV said, “The people in charge of the Shenzhen Tobacco Distribution Bureau will start investigating some offline stores and conduct further investigations by finding online vendors.”

SAM KIM

US ASIA JOURNAL