Are you a keen follower of global health news? If your answered yes, then you will agree that governments have been vigilant on creating and passing laws aimed at ban vapes sales in their countries. Joining these many countries is none other than the communist China.
Earlier this month (October 2022), the Chinese government made a call to ban the sale of vaping gadgets across the country. This follows the increased consumption of e-cigarettes among teenagers and the youth. The ban policy came into effect on October 01, 2022.
According to this ban policy, there will be no sale of e-cigarettes on digital platforms. This is because studies have shown that one of the reasons why vaping is high among teenagers is because e-cigarettes are mainly peddled online-a platform which is easily accessible by young adults. In addition to this, the government has instructed companies to include warning labels to vaping devices citing they are dangerous and must therefore not be consumed by school children.
Although the ban is for the good of the society, many companies are not of the same idea. Take the case of Relx for instance. With 70% shares of the vaping market in China, Relx was one of the companies that heavily benefitted from vaping. With the new laws however, Relx has suffered a loss of more than 95% and the loss is expected to grow worse if more laws prohibiting consumption of vapes are put in place.
In as much as China is banning the sale of vaping devices internally, it will interest you to know that China will not stop the exportation of the devices to other nations. According to statistics, China made a 180% profit in 2021 because of exporting vape devices.
The above only means that although China seems concerned about the health of their young generation, they are equally objective on the benefits the country would gain through indirect involvement in the act of vaping. This does not however come as a surprise since a report by Reuters notes that a third of US e-cigarette devices are from China. Whether their actions are justified or not it remains a fact the ban policy they have introduced will go a long way in transforming or rather reducing vaping among the underage.
Key to highlight is that China’s ban policy does not also completely restrict the consumption of e-cigarettes. The policy only restricts consumption of e-cigarettes that have adverse effects on the human body. Therefore, e-cigarettes which are infused with the tobacco flavor will still be in the market and available to adults as this helps them to control their smoking addiction.
Every nation would desire to have laws that will ensure complete smoking and vaping ban. While none of the countries have attained this goal, the current laws instituted to ban illegal vaping partially are a clear hope that one day nations will be free from vaping. Until then, companies should be vigilant in selling the approved e-cigarettes to the correct consumers as our future depends on the current young adults.
