A huge dark cloud shrouded the sky over Shenzhen, China. This city, known as the world's e-cigarette capital, has about 1000 factories responsible for designing and manufacturing about 90% of the world's e-cigarette devices. However, this morning, the city was severely hit as its flagship product, disposable e-cigarettes, will be banned from being sold in one of its largest export markets, the UK. A source from a major disposable brand in China told Grocery: "This really could lead to our death."
The ban is a response to the government consultation on adolescent e-cigarettes launched in October last year. It is reported that the UK Electronic Cigarette Industry Association UKVIA believes that the possibility of a comprehensive ban is 50/50.
"Of course we are concerned," Jacques Xiang Li, Global Communications Director for ElfBar and Lost Mary brands, told The Grocer at the end of last year. "But we are actually doing something."
This includes introducing a waste equipment recycling program, discussing penalties for retailers selling products to children, and changing the flavor name to a more acceptable one. This artwork aims to meet the more likely requirements for flat packaging.
There are indications that these actions may be effective in the new environment. In November of last year, Adam Afriyie, Vice Chairman of the Cross Party Parliamentary Group on e-cigarettes and Conservative MP, told the industry at the UKVIA Forum in London that "we are all together.". People expect the UK to prove to the world through a series of reasonable proposals that it has "solved, or at least can solve, the problem and does not require further significant action.". According to reports, Afryie's wife is a shareholder of Elite Growth, whose retail division sells Moodbar disposable e-cigarettes. The APPG for electronic cigarettes no longer exists
Chinese big brands have reason to feel at ease. After all, if the British government has allowed them to go unpunished for so long, why have they suddenly become tough now?
In February, industry violations were exposed, with ElfBar disposable e-cigarettes sold in major supermarkets containing liquid nicotine, exceeding the legal limit by 50%. Although these actions led to voluntary withdrawal, there was no threat of fines or bans, and the product was relisted a few weeks later. This situation has raised concerns about industry regulation, with some believing that punitive measures are insufficient.
In March, we conducted laboratory tests on other best-selling disposable devices, including SKE Crystal Smoke Mbar, IVG, Found Mary, Klik Klak, Solo, and Solo+. The results showed that the amount of nicotine liquid contained in the device far exceeded the legal limit of 2 milliliters. Surprisingly, the authorities did not take any punitive measures against these brands for gaining an unfair advantage in attracting loyal customers.
Electronic cigarette brands have also made breakthrough progress in marketing. In May this year, ElfBar was punished by ASA for violating TikTok post advertising regulations. ElfBar added that due to Imperial Tobacco's initial complaint, it will cease any TikTok marketing in the UK. However, surprisingly, in the same week, another Shenzhen brand HQD was also found to have engaged in violations. Although many other brands have caught the attention of ASA, no fines or sanctions have been issued.
Practitioners in Shenzhen seem to generally believe that "if everyone else is doing it and no one stops it, why don't we do it?" Now, as Chinese brands have experienced, this seemingly toothless tiger in the UK has finally shown its strength.
For many people, even within the industry, the largest disposable brand has long avoided problematic behavior. Electronic cigarette executives in Shenzhen may already know that this day will come. They certainly hay while the sun is shining: in 2023, the value and sales of this category more than doubled, with sales exceeding 15.5 billion units, and in 2022, the value of this category also doubled.
It remains to be seen whether this one-time product giant can successfully switch to the types of devices allowed for sale and revive its business after the ban. The real question is whether they can continue to emit light and heat, rather than quickly falling into the sewer.