China, home to the majority of the world’s e-cigarette manufacturers, is planning to regulate e-cigarettes.
This comes after the country drew up a set of standards in Chinese for e-cigarettes that specify the level of nicotine, the type of additives and other components, and designs allowed in battery-powered cigarette devices.
Mao Qunan, head of China’s National Health Commission, said that the agency has begun research into e-cigarettes and plans to issue legislation for the industry. It also appears that China is applying more scrutiny to new smoking technology, as Mao also said that research shows that the aerosol produced by heating up e-cigarettes can contain “a lot of harmful substances” and additives in e-cigarettes can “pose health risks.”
Mao also noted that equivocal labeling of nicotine levels can misguide smokers and “sloppy” device standards can result in battery explosions and other safety incidents.