On August 29, Shenzhen officially became the first batch of pilot cities to launch the national unified e-cigarette transaction management platform (hereinafter referred to as the "management platform"). From now on, products that pass the national standard "Electronic Cigarette" (GB 41700-2022) (hereinafter referred to as "new national standard products") can be traded in wholesale and retail through the management platform, and industry production and sales have entered a new stage of standardized management.

After the new national standard products are launched, what changes will the first-line consumer market usher in? According to the visit of the Nandu Electronic Cigarette Industry Observation Research Group, the industry is still in a period of adjustment in the short term, but the industry remains optimistic about the future.

In response to the current feedback from the first-line consumer market, Zheng Zhi, an expert in the e-cigarette industry, pointed out that the domestic e-cigarette market is expected to decline in the short and medium term, but due to the limitation of taste, it is easy to reduce the degree of difference between products, which requires enterprises to make more efforts in the future. It is necessary to conform to the torrent of the times and have more solid product strength and brand influence.

The new national standard products are launched in Shenzhen stores, and the first-tier market is still in a period of adjustment in the short term

Previously, the research group reported that the "Administrative Measures for Electronic Cigarettes" issued by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration was officially implemented on May 1, which clearly "prohibits the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes other than tobacco flavors and electronic cigarettes that can be added by themselves. Electronic cigarettes”, and a 5-month transition period was set up. At the same time, the national standard "Electronic Cigarette", which will be officially implemented on October 1, also defines the design, raw material requirements, technical requirements and other indicators of electronic cigarettes.

This means that from October 1st, the domestic e-cigarette production and sales market has officially entered a new stage of standardized development. Shenzhen, as a pilot city that officially launched the national unified e-cigarette transaction management platform, has also ushered in a period of change in the first-tier consumer market.

On September 2, the research team visited a number of e-cigarette stores and learned that some stores have launched new national standard products. A shop owner informed the research team that on the day the management platform went online, a small batch of new national standard products had been placed and tried to sell in the store. However, some shop owners said that the market acceptance of the new national standard products is limited, and it is expected that there will still be an adaptation period in the short term. The taste of imitation cigarettes is heavier, which will largely lead to changes in consumer groups in the future.”

The research team observed and found that the new national standard cigarette sticks and pods are marked with the words "No minors smoking" on the packaging and products. Ms. Feng, who came to the store to experience new products, said that the gradual standardization of new product design and taste is a good thing for consumers, but it should also take into account the needs of different consumer groups. "In the past, electronic cigarettes had strong trend attributes, and there were relatively many options for appearance customization and taste. Now, under the requirements of safer electronic cigarettes, they should also appropriately take care of the needs of the original consumer groups and meet the diversity of consumer preferences."

Expert: Technological innovation and brand influence have become the core competitiveness of enterprises

In the short term, the first-tier consumer market has entered a period of adjustment for regulated development under policy requirements, and manufacturers who fail to produce products that meet the standards as soon as possible will be shuffled out. In the medium and long term, many people in the industry remain optimistic about the future development of the electronic cigarette industry.

In response to the technical review of the e-cigarette industry by relevant departments, a tobacco industry expert pointed out that the overall review process is scientific and effective, and some products that have passed the review have also been successfully launched. Some users report that the existing flavors are relatively "single", which may be related to the stricter review in the early stage.

"In the flavor review, the clearer requirement is 'tobacco flavor'. However, since the production process of electronic cigarette aerosol does not burn and basically does not produce tar, it is difficult to reproduce the flavor brought by cigarette tar. Therefore, electronic cigarettes cannot Completely imitate the flavor of cigarettes. Secondly, the 'tobacco flavor' of electronic cigarettes needs to be reflected by tobacco extracts. According to the requirements of the existing review, the characteristics of tobacco are strong enough, and it is necessary to add a large amount of tobacco extracts, which may cause some serious harm. The impurities such as nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are brought into the atomized liquid and aerosol, which brings new safety problems.”

In the expert's view, whether it is for cigarettes or e-cigarettes, the main goal of regulation is to reduce "induction", especially for minors. The national standard has drawn the bottom line of product safety in terms of additives and product design, and also pointed out the direction of "rejecting minors and reducing inductiveness". It believes that this will be a new starting point for the standardized development of the electronic cigarette industry.

In response to the current feedback from the first-line consumer market, Zheng Zhi, an expert in the e-cigarette industry, pointed out that the domestic e-cigarette market is expected to decline in the short and medium term, but due to the limitation of taste, it is easy to reduce the degree of difference between products, which requires enterprises to make more efforts in the future. It is necessary to conform to the torrent of the times and have more solid product strength and brand influence.

“Without characteristic flavors, no high and low nicotine experiences, no DIY creation of open nicotine, regulations on warning statements on pods, and the requirement to use only whitelisted raw materials for flavor design, these factors will ultimately lead to As a result, the e-cigarette products launched by various companies will have a high similarity in terms of shape and taste. In this case, companies can only fight for brand influence and take the lead in achieving major technological innovations.”

The export advantage of the e-cigarette industry has existed for a long time, and the business environment of the new manufacturing industry needs to be further optimized

Since 2019, with the stricter requirements for the standardization of the development of the electronic cigarette industry at the domestic policy level, leading enterprises in the industry have actively responded to national policies, and at the same time have been seeking ways to enhance their own R&D and product strength, and build patents in China's electronic cigarette industry. moat.

According to the data of the Electronic Cigarette Professional Committee of the China Electronic Chamber of Commerce, from 2003 to October 31, 2021, the total number of domestic patent applications was 26,403, of which liquid electronic cigarettes accounted for 93.4%. On the whole, the past three years have been a period of concentrated emergence of e-cigarette patents; among them, Guangdong Province is the largest province for e-cigarette patent applications, accounting for more than 60%, and private enterprises are the main force in patent applications, accounting for nearly 90%.

As China's electronic cigarette industry with global production capacity and technological advantages, the supply of raw materials in the upstream, the product design and manufacturing in the midstream, and the layout of sales in the global market has formed a very complete industrial chain, and has become a global electronic cigarette industry. Tobacco's largest export industry. In 2021, China's e-cigarette industry exports will be about 138.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 180%. It is expected that it will still be in a stage of rapid development in the next three years.

Under the background of the standardized development of the domestic market and the prominent export advantages of the industry, some industry insiders suggested that China's electronic cigarette industry should increase exports, strengthen international cooperation, and promote open multilateral trade cooperation; Enterprises, cultivate a better business environment, support the growth of local enterprises, and avoid a large number of relocation of advantageous industries.

The aforementioned tobacco experts also mentioned that China is the largest producer of electronic cigarettes, and most of the products of electronic cigarettes are exported. Domestic regulations may have a certain impact on the export of electronic cigarettes.

"Domestic restrictions on flavors and e-liquid imports will trigger equivalent trade terms, and other countries can also reject the export of domestic fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. The impact of the new regulations on future industry exports remains to be seen. At the same time, industry enterprises It is understood that domestic policies are at the stage of feeling the stones and crossing the river, and they need to be constantly adjusted and improved, and the national regulatory authorities should also listen to the opinions and suggestions of all parties in order to better serve the "national interests first, consumers' interests first". One's overall goal."