Department of Preventive Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Division of Chronic Non-communicable Disease and Injury, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China.
Tob Control. 2024 Oct 19;33(6):705-712. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057759.
The goal was to analyse website content of Chinese electronic (e) cigarette manufacturing enterprises and understand the marketing strategies to provide evidence for decision-makers to regulate manufacturers.
Through QCC.com, one of the largest enterprise information query platforms in China, we identified 104 official manufacturer websites in 2021. A codebook including 6 sections with 31 items was developed and all webpages were coded separately by two trained researchers.
Over half of the websites (56.7%) did not have age verification for entry. Thirty-two (30.8%) websites had no restriction for minors to use or purchase e-cigarettes, and 79 (76.0%) had no health warning. Overall, 99 websites (95.2%) displayed their products, and 72 (69.2%) displayed e-flavours. The most frequently used descriptions of products included good taste (68.3%), positive mood (62.5%), leakage resistance (56.7%), enjoyment (47.1%), reduced harm (45.2%), alternatives to cigarettes (43.3%) and long battery life (42.3%). Additionally, 75 websites (72.1%) provided contact information on different channels, including WeChat (59.6%), Weibo (41.3%), Facebook (13.5%), Instagram (12.5%) and brand apps (2.9%). Manufacturers provided investment and franchise information (59.6%) and offline store information (17.3%). In addition, 41.3% websites included content regarding corporate social responsibility.
Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers' official websites have become a platform for presenting product and brand information, establishing online and offline marketing loops, and displaying corporate social responsibility with weak age restrictions on access and a lack of health warnings. The Chinese government should implement strict regulatory measures on e-cigarette enterprises.
分析中国电子烟制造企业网站内容，了解其营销策略，为决策者监管制造商提供依据。
通过中国最大的企业信息查询平台之一 QCC.com，我们于 2021 年确定了 104 家官方制造商网站。制定了一个包含 6 个部分 31 个项目的编码手册，并由两名经过培训的研究人员分别对所有网页进行编码。
超过一半的网站（56.7%）没有年龄验证要求。32 个（30.8%）网站没有限制未成年人使用或购买电子烟，79 个（76.0%）网站没有健康警示。总体而言，99 个网站（95.2%）展示了他们的产品，72 个（69.2%）展示了电子烟口味。产品最常使用的描述包括口感好（68.3%）、心情愉悦（62.5%）、防漏（56.7%）、享受（47.1%）、降低危害（45.2%）、替代香烟（43.3%）和电池续航时间长（42.3%）。此外，75 个网站（72.1%）在不同渠道提供了联系方式，包括微信（59.6%）、微博（41.3%）、脸书（13.5%）、Instagram（12.5%）和品牌应用程序（2.9%）。制造商提供投资和加盟信息（59.6%）和线下门店信息（17.3%）。此外，41.3%的网站包含企业社会责任内容。
中国电子烟制造商的官方网站已成为展示产品和品牌信息、建立线上和线下营销循环以及展示企业社会责任的平台，对访问者的年龄限制较弱，且缺乏健康警示。中国政府应对电子烟企业实施严格的监管措施。
