China
Chinese manufacturers of e-cigarettes and e-liquids are facing challenging times as the effect of growing health concerns related to vaping in the US and Beijing’s recent directive banning online sales or promotion of e-cigarettes and vaping start kicking in.
According to the China Electronic Cigarette Chamber of Commerce, China is the world’s biggest manufacturer and exporter of e-cigarettes, with annual sales worth RMB33.7 billion, exports worth RMB28.7 billion, and creating over two million jobs. About 90% of the world’s vaping and e-cigarette devices are designed and manufactured in about 1,000 factories in Shenzhen, a city just north of Hong Kong.
Manufacturers were not completely surprised by China’s ban on online e-cigarette sales, as they had been expecting some type of regulation for months and were too quick to comply once the directive came out.
Bigger Shenzhen manufacturers have been less affected by recent events than smaller players, and it’s business as normal, but everyone is waiting to see what the US will do – if it bans flavored e-cigarettes and what the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) policy will be on approving tobacco products.