The Rise of "Three No" Tea Cigarettes in Online Market

As regulation of electronic cigarettes tightens, "Three No" tea cigarettes have recently appeared on some e-commerce platforms. They mimic branded cigarettes and sell openly, skirting the rules against online tobacco sales. In order to both avoid violating regulations prohibiting online sales of tobacco products and make a profit, these sellers not only claim that the product is "smuggled goods seized by customs", but also add fruit flavors to attract minors and hide many risks.

Counterfeit tea and cigarettes covered in multiple layers of disguise.

In accordance with relevant laws and regulations in our country, it is explicitly stated that "no citizen, legal person or other organizations may sell tobacco monopoly products through information networks". However, some businesses on certain e-commerce platforms succumb to the lure of profit and secretly sell so-called "cigarette products". These "cigarette products" are mainly fake tea cigarettes, not genuine tobacco products.

Half a month magazine reporters searched multiple e-commerce platforms using keywords such as "cigarettes", "roll-up cigarettes", and "e-cigarettes", but did not find any relevant products. However, according to insiders' tips, when the keywords were changed to "kin" and "yan", a lot of product information immediately popped up.

Upon careful examination, it can be observed that online shops mostly claim that their cigarettes are "original factory products" or "clearance sale items from customs". The packaging and branding of these cigarettes are nearly identical to those of premium brands, and they are often sold at a significantly low price. For instance, "Nanjing Xuan Hemén", a cigarette that sells for about 18 yuan per pack on the market, can be purchased for only 5 yuan, while a pack of "Yanzhonghua" that costs around 450 yuan is priced at 58 yuan and even offers a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

There is more than meets the eye behind the unusual prices of these cigarettes. They may bear a striking resemblance to well-known brands, but they are actually not affiliated with them in any way. For instance, cigarettes that look very similar to "Nanjing" brand are actually labeled as "Nanjing" but with a slightly different name, such as "Nanjing" that becomes "Nanjingjing." Similar differences can also be found between "Mudan" and "Dudan," and "Hongta Mountain" and "Honghuota Mountain" where the word "huo" (meaning "fire") is sandwiched between the two words and barely visible.

Half-Month Talk" reporters purchased a pack of cigarettes labeled "Legitimate Old-fashioned Peony Soft Pack 333 Lao Yan Classic" from an online store for 32.64 yuan. The webpage claimed that the product was a "Shanghai-made tar-baked product" and that the cigarettes were "seized at the port." These descriptions gave the impression that the product was a valuable or rare find. However, when the product arrived, it was revealed to be a brand called "Du Dan" with packaging that indicated it was a "non-tobacco product" and did not contain nicotine. When the reporters questioned the seller about this deceptive advertising, the seller responded with a screenshot of the product page, which contained a small and inconspicuous line that stated the main ingredient was chrysanthemum.

Some online shops use the trick of labeling their products as real cigarettes but actually selling tea cigarettes to avoid platform supervision and sales disputes. Some of these shops relocate frequently to avoid detection. Despite this, the sale of cheap tea cigarettes still brings considerable profits to these shops, with some sales links showing more than 100,000 items sold. One seller said, "Low prices attract more customers and the key is to sell in bulk with small profits.

Rejecting tobacco.

Exploiting regulatory loopholes, concealing potential safety hazards.

Selling cigarettes online is undoubtedly prohibited. According to relevant officials from the Tianjin Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's supervision and management department, a tobacco monopoly permit is required to sell tobacco monopoly products, and no individual, legal entity, or other organization is allowed to sell tobacco monopoly products through the internet. Can tea, therefore, be sold online?

A journalist from the "Half-Monthly Talk" magazine broke open a cigarette that they had purchased, causing the small fragments inside to scatter. Upon careful inspection, there was a hint of tea aroma, but the cigarette smell was not very prominent. The packaging indicated that it was made from selected ingredients such as tea leaves, chrysanthemums, peppermint, lotus leaves, honey, and edible essence, giving the impression of being "healthy".

According to the spokesperson, the legal standard for determining whether a product is considered a cigarette is whether it contains tobacco. Tea cigarettes may appear similar in appearance to cigarettes, but if they do not contain tobacco, they do not fall under the legal definition of cigarettes and are not subject to tobacco regulations. The spokesperson also noted that the lack of information about compliance with national standards on the packaging of tea cigarettes poses potential safety risks for consumers.

Half-month Talk reporters found through investigation that currently, tea and cigarettes are not included in the "Classification Catalogue for Food Production Licenses," and therefore do not fall under the category of food products, nor can they obtain a food production license. If the tea and cigarette products do not contain tobacco leaves, then they do not fall under the category of tobacco products either. As a result, there are no corresponding national standards to regulate the production of tea and cigarettes.

On product promotion pages, some online merchants claim that "tea cigarettes can not only be brewed for drinking after being unpacked, but also smoked like regular cigarettes, making them very suitable for quitting smoking." However, a person with a 10-year smoking history said after trying the tea cigarettes, "There is a slight cigarette taste, but it is not easy to smoke. After taking a puff, there is a burnt taste and it's even a little spicy.

According to insiders, the smoke in some cigarettes may not necessarily come from tobacco leaves. Due to strict regulation and higher costs for traditional tobacco, some cheaper tea-cigarettes add medicinal or chemical nicotine to achieve a taste similar to regular cigarettes, in order to deceive consumers. Previously, the Shanghai Advertising Monitoring Center found that some tea-cigarette products contained up to 14.41 milligrams of tar per unit, exceeding national standards for cigarettes by nearly one third.

Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, stated that some businesses are now trying to promote tea cigarettes as a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes after the decline of e-cigarettes. They are using people's positive associations with the health benefits of tea to entice consumers to buy tea cigarettes. Some tea cigarettes even add fruit flavors to attract and lure underage smokers.

The urgent need for regulation in the secretive corners.

In recent years, the efforts to control smoking in society have been constantly increasing, industry regulations have been improving, and measures such as banning smoking in public places and regulating the sale of electronic cigarettes have had a significant impact. However, the production and online sales of herbal cigarettes are still in a state of unchecked growth, becoming a hidden corner in the efforts to control smoking.

Tea cigarettes sold online are fraught with unethical practices and deception throughout their production and sale. Industry insiders and experts argue that strict regulation is necessary to prevent these products from continuing to be sold unchecked.

According to a representative from the Tianjin Tobacco Monopoly Bureau's Supervision and Management Division, when it comes to cracking down on herbal cigarettes, they generally approach it from the perspective of protecting intellectual property rights. This is because the packaging of herbal cigarettes is often identical or highly similar to that of regular cigarettes, potentially infringing on the trademark rights of cigarette manufacturers. These manufacturers can file civil lawsuits for trademark infringement and unfair competition to protect their legal rights.

Meanwhile, the appearance of tea cigarettes is no different from regular cigarettes. The production and operation process may involve the illegal production and operation of tobacco-specific machinery, cigarette paper, filters, and tobacco-related products. Industry experts state that this type of behavior can be regulated and punished by tobacco regulatory authorities in conjunction with relevant law enforcement agencies.

In the retail industry, online platforms should shoulder the responsibility of promptly removing products that are suspected of infringing on intellectual property rights or violating laws.

Zhang Jianshu believes that the regulation of tea-flavored cigarettes should be addressed by clarifying specific issues such as whether they can be sold, the ways in which they are monitored and the degree to which they should be regulated through legislation as soon as possible. Until the classification of tea-flavored cigarettes is further clarified, warning messages can be strengthened through promotion. Especially for minors, tea-flavored cigarettes should be used as a warning in educational content to keep them away from tobacco damage.