Wuhan Evening News (reporter Geng Shanshan, correspondent Zhang Tong, Zhou Xuan) Some people were sentenced to five years and three months in prison for illegally reselling e-cigarettes, and they also had to pay a fine of 80,000 yuan. On November 30, the reporter learned that the Jiangxia District People's Court of Wuhan City recently concluded a case of illegal e-cigarette operation.
It is reported that this is the first criminal case involving e-cigarettes concluded in Hubei Province since the implementation of the "Measures for the Administration of Electronic Cigarettes" on May 1, 2022. Due to the large amount of money involved and the large number of people involved, this case was listed by the Ministry of Public Security and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration as a particularly serious case for supervision.
From October 2022 to February 2023, in order to obtain illegal benefits, Cao clearly knew that e-cigarettes were monopoly items stipulated by laws and administrative regulations, but still purchased key raw materials such as e-cigarette oil and nicotine, e-cigarette movements and related auxiliary materials without obtaining a tobacco monopoly license, and designed them into styles such as "violent bears" and "milk tea cups" by himself, and rented a factory and warehouse in a place in Guangdong to organize personnel to produce, assemble, store, and Sell non-national standard e-cigarette products, and then sell them to Jiangxia District, Wuhan City through the online sales chain.
After the incident, public security officers seized e-cigarette products from the warehouse and factory operated by the defendant Cao670,000, worth nearly 10 million yuan. After the inspection of the Hubei Provincial Tobacco Quality Supervision and Monitoring Station, the seized e-cigarette products are all fake and shoddy e-cigarettes that do not meet relevant national standards.
On March 11, 2022, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration issued the "Measures for the Administration of E-cigarettes", which specifically formulates specifications for the production and operation of e-cigarettes and the consequences of violations, and clearly stipulates that primary and secondary school students are prohibited from smoking e-cigarettes, which will come into force on May 1, 2022.
On October 1, 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China officially implemented the "Mandatory National Standards for Electronic Cigarettes", and the electronic cigarette industry entered the rule of law and standardization.
According to the presiding judge, although e-cigarettes work differently from traditional cigarettes, they are no less harmful than traditional cigarettes. The object of the crime of illegal business operation is the market management system of the state that restricts the sale of goods and business licenses, and Cao's sale of e-cigarettes without permission has caused social harm.
According to the relevant judicial interpretations, "illegal operation of tobacco monopoly products without a tobacco monopoly license, where the circumstances are serious, constitutes the crime of illegal business operation". "If the illegal operation of tobacco monopoly products can be ascertained, the amount of illegal business shall be calculated according to the sales or purchases."
After trial, the Jiangxia District Court held that the defendant Cao's conduct had constituted the crime of illegal business operation, and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison and fined accordingly.