According to a report by Tsinghua University, e-cigarette sales in China reached 33.75 billion yuan last year.
To appeal to consumers, most brands tout the health benefits of e-cigarettes along with the variety of flavours available. Thomas Piachaud, director of consulting at global market research company Kantar, said the huge tobacco market highlights the “heavily ingrained nature” of smoking in China, and gives e-cigarettes a large pool of potential customers.
“Smoking e-cigarettes is convenient and doesn’t bother others,” he said. “Moreover, we have imported e-cigarette liquid from the United States that meets with US Food and Drug Administration approval, to make sure our products are safe.” The RELX brand began mass production in April last year, since when its output has risen by about 160 times.
The company has invested millions of dollars in R&D, and boasts a laboratory with imported equipment and a team of scientists to ensure that all of its products comply with some of the strictest standards in the world, including those of the European Union, for e-liquid and vapour quality, he said. Many of the big players have not yet cemented their grip on China, and the market is poised to consolidate around just a few key brands.
New regulations at different levels have been issued to stop the sales of various flavours that were attracting teenagers. On Oct 9, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba said it would stop selling e-cigarettes in the US, in line with the similar decision by Walmart.