The ban on flavoured vaping products and other standards for vaping products in China will come into effect from 1 October, reports Vaping 360.

China amended its laws in November 2021 to include the vaping industry under the control of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), which regulates Chinese tobacco products. According to Vaping 360, a draft version of the Administrative Measures for E-Cigarettes outlined licensing requirements for manufacturers and the creation of a “unified national electronic cigarette transaction management platform” for wholesale activity with the STMA being responsible for making sure the rules were adhered to. The flavour ban was later added to the draft and will disallow all flavours apart from tobacco for products sold in China. With regard to overseas sales, products sold must meet the standards of the destination country and only if that country has no specific standards for vape products must Chinese standards be applied. However, it is unclear to manufacturers how Chinese regulators will enforce the laws on a global level. According to Vaping 360, questions include whether Chinese regulators will track the ever-changing rules of every country in the world and insist they be followed or whether they will adapt a laxer view.
Chinese vapers have already been snapping up flavoured vaping products before the ban comes into force and it remains to be seen whether the new law will lead to an increase of the black market.