From December 5-7, 2022, Keller and Heckman hosted a private conference with the China State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) on the topic of U.S. and global e-cigarette and tobacco product regulation. The event was approved by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and was attended by over 700 officials from STMA and its local subsidiaries across China. The event was co-sponsored by Gladen (Shanghai) International Trading Co., Ltd., a leading tobacco ingredient supplier in China.
China amended its tobacco monopoly law in 2021 to regulate e-cigarettes, officially placing e-cigarettes and raw materials (i.e., e-liquids as well as nicotine for use in e-cigarettes) under the “monopoly management” of STMA. Since then, STMA has issued dozens of regulations applicable to e-cigarettes intended for domestic sale as well as for export to overseas markets. Over 95% of all the world’s e-cigarette hardware is made in Shenzhen, China.
During the three-day intensive online training, which included several hours of live Q&A, Keller and Heckman attorneys provided detailed guidance on the regulation of e-cigarettes and tobacco products in the United States, European Union, and some Asia Pacific jurisdictions, particularly focusing on the U.S. regulatory framework for premarket authorization, good manufacturing practices, import and export requirements, state laws, as well as global market trends. Keller and Heckman attorneys Azim Chowdhury, David Ettinger, Eric Gu, Neelam Gill, and presented at the event, along with guest speaker Tim Phillips, Managing Director of ECigIntelligence.
David Ettinger, Managing Partner of Keller and Heckman’s Shanghai Office, and Eric Gu, will be discussing the situation in China at Keller and Heckman’s upcoming E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium on February 15-16, 2023. Register for the seminar here.