Is it illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors?

After the third revision of the State Council's Decision on Amending the Regulations for the Implementation of People's Republic of China (PRC) Tobacco Monopoly Law, new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes will be included in cigarette management and supervised and managed according to law. Therefore, operators who provide emerging tobacco products such as e-cigarettes must apply for tobacco monopoly retail licenses in accordance with the law before they can carry out e-cigarette retail business. At the same time, Article 59 of the Law on the Protection of Minors (Law) stipulates that operators providing tobacco commodity services shall not sell tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products) to minors. Operators providing tobacco commodity services shall set warning slogans and signs in a prominent position and shall not sell cigarettes to minors. Operators who provide tobacco commodity services seek personal gain in violation of the above-mentioned laws and regulations, violate public order and good customs, and provide new tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes to minors, and the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau may impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan on their illegal acts; Refuses to correct or if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification or revoke the tobacco monopoly retail license, and may also be fined between 50,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan.

Operators who provide new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes illegally sell new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes to minors without obtaining a tobacco monopoly license, and the amount of illegal business is more than 50,000 yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than 20,000 yuan, and so on. In accordance with the provisions of Article 225 of the Criminal Law, for the crime of illegal business operation, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined not less than 1 times but not more than 5 times the illegal income.

The reference materials are as follows:

tobacco monopoly law of the people's republic of china

Article 3 The State shall, in accordance with the law, exercise monopoly administration over the production, sale, import and export of tobacco monopoly commodities and implement a tobacco monopoly license system.

Regulations on the Implementation of People's Republic of China (PRC) Tobacco Monopoly Law (Administrative Regulations)

Article 6, paragraph 1 Whoever engages in the production, wholesale and retail business of tobacco monopoly products, the import and export business of tobacco monopoly products and the purchase and sale business of foreign tobacco products must apply for a tobacco monopoly retail license in accordance with the provisions of the Tobacco Monopoly Law and these Regulations.

Sixty-fifth electronic cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall be implemented with reference to the relevant provisions of these regulations.

Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Minors (Law)

Fifty-ninth schools and kindergartens shall not set up cigarette, wine and lottery sales points. It is forbidden to sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or pay lottery bonuses to minors. Operators of tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets shall set up signs in a prominent position not to sell tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets to minors; If it is difficult to determine whether they are minors, they shall be required to show their identity documents.

No one is allowed to smoke or drink alcohol in schools, kindergartens or other public places where minors concentrate their activities.

Article 123 Where the relevant business operators violate the provisions of Article 58, Paragraph 1 of Article 59 and Article 60 of this Law, the departments of culture and tourism, market supervision and management, tobacco monopoly and public security shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, order them to make corrections within a time limit, give them a warning, confiscate their illegal income and may concurrently impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; Refuses to correct or if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification or revoke its business license and relevant certificates, and may also be imposed a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.

Criminal law of the people's Republic of China

Article 225 Whoever, in violation of State regulations, commits one of the following illegal business operations and disrupts the market order, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal income; If the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times his illegal income or his property shall be confiscated: (1) dealing in franchise, monopoly goods or other commodities whose business is restricted by laws and administrative regulations without permission;

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Illegal Production and Sale of Tobacco Monopoly Products (Fa Shi [2010] No.7)

Article 3 Whoever illegally deals in tobacco monopoly commodities under any of the following circumstances shall be deemed as "serious" as stipulated in Article 225 of the Criminal Law:

(a) the amount of illegal business is more than fifty thousand yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than twenty thousand yuan;

(2) Illegally handling more than 200,000 cigarettes;

(three) more than two times in three years due to illegal tobacco monopoly products by administrative punishment, illegal tobacco monopoly products in the amount of more than 30 thousand yuan.

Under any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed as "the circumstances are particularly serious" as stipulated in Article 225 of the Criminal Law:

(a) the amount of illegal business is more than 250 thousand yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than100 thousand yuan;

(2) Illegally handling more than one million cigarettes.