Shares of e-cigarette companies in China dropped substantially, following the release of an official statement announcing tougher e-cigarette regulations.
A statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced the addition of a clause to the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Tobacco Patent Sales Law of China as Article 65, “.. regulations on e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products shall be implemented with reference to the relevant provisions on cigarettes in the regulations.” The new regulations will affect the production and operation of e-cigarettes, ensure quality and safety standards and set in place advertising guidelines.
Following the announcement, the stock price of RLX Technology Inc., one of the biggest manufacturers, distributers and sellers of vaping products in China, dropped by more than 24% or $14.70 at 9:55 GMT in pre-market trading on the US market. Its stock price closed at $19.46 on Friday, with a market value of $30.2 billion.
Diane Caruana – VapingPost – 2021-04-02.