“Cigarette Cards” Still Available on Multiple E-commerce Platforms Despite Earlier Notice from the State Tobacco Administration for Rectification

Recently, issues such as the addiction of some minors to “cigarette cards” games and the chaotic sales of “cigarette cards” have garnered widespread attention. Experts have suggested banning the sale of “cigarette cards” at the source.
However, a recent search by The Paper on e-commerce platforms such as JD.com, Taobao, and Pinduoduo found that many online stores are still selling “cigarette cards.”
Lawyer Li Enze, who serves as the Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Public Welfare Legal Professional Committee of the Chinese Association on Smoking Control, has filed complaints with local regulatory departments about the sale of cigarette cards on e-commerce platforms and made suggestions to relevant state departments on related issues. In July of this year, he received a response from the State Administration for Market Regulation.
The response stated that relevant departments have carried out a series of work in accordance with the law based on their respective responsibilities. The National Tobacco Monopoly Administration Office issued a notice requiring all regions to “strengthen local regulatory responsibilities, adopt measures such as administrative interviews and sending regulatory letters, and require local Internet companies to voluntarily clean up product information related to electronic cigarettes and cigarette cards, and shut down illegal sales stores.”
The response indicated that market regulatory departments attach great importance to the protection of minors and actively cooperate with the National Tobacco Monopoly Administration in carrying out actions to address the issue of “cigarette cards.”
Lawyer Complaints About Online Stores Selling “Cigarette Cards”
“Cigarette cards” are made from cigarette packs by tearing off the lids and folding them into rectangular cards. The game involves clapping the ground with cupped hands, and the player wins if the “cigarette card” flips over from the airflow. Additionally, “cigarette cards” are classified into different levels based on the price of the cigarettes. The more expensive the cigarettes, the rarer the cards.
Recently, reports of minors addicted to “cigarette cards” have become common. According to public reports, an elementary school student in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, recently reported to a local police station that several children had robbed him of his “cigarette cards”; in June of this year, four children entered the Jiangxi Ningding Expressway, which was open to traffic, to pick up cigarette packs to make “cigarette cards.”
Lawyer Li Enze pointed out that the popularity of “cigarette cards” affects the physical and mental health of minors and may induce them to smoke. However, “cigarette cards” are selling well on multiple e-commerce platforms.
Li Enze said that in May of this year, he searched for “cigarette cards” on an e-commerce platform and found 7,916 related products.
Through an e-commerce platform, Li Enze purchased 40 “cigarette cards” from the store “Jiongsheng Tobacco Accessories Specialist Store” operated by Suqian Jiongsheng E-commerce Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jiongsheng Company). The store claimed that its “cigarette cards” were genuine, authentic, rare, and not printed.
On June 3, after receiving the “cigarette cards,” Li Enze found that the product was not the “genuine card” as claimed by the store, but a printed paper product without a brand, not made from real cigarette packaging.
“There’s no glue or cigarette smell, and it’s relatively thin and not as refined,” said Li Enze.
Afterwards, Li Enze filed a complaint against the aforementioned store. On July 30, the Shuyang County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in Jiangsu Province, where Jiongsheng Company is registered, issued a notice of complaint handling results, stating that law enforcement officers went to Jiongsheng Company’s business location on July 23 and did not find printing equipment, materials, or the reported “cigarette cards.” After inquiring and investigating the legal representative Sun Shizhuang, it was found that the aforementioned “cigarette cards” sold by the company were shipped directly from another e-commerce platform through a one-click delivery service, and the company had never printed cigarette packs. As it did not meet the requirements of Paragraph 1, Clause (1) of Article 19 of the “Provisions on Administrative Penalty Procedures for Market Supervision and Administration,” the bureau decided not to file the case.
Paragraph 1, Clause (1) of Article 19 of the “Provisions on Administrative Penalty Procedures for Market Supervision and Administration” states that after investigation, if there is preliminary evidence proving the violation of market supervision and administration laws, regulations, or rules, a case shall be filed.
Dissatisfied with the aforementioned decision not to file the case, Li Enze filed an administrative reconsideration with the Shuyang County Government.
The administrative reconsideration decision issued by the Shuyang County Government on October 12 stated that it was found through investigation that the involved goods were purchased and directly shipped by the reported party, Jiongsheng Company, from another e-commerce platform store named “Daily Box Priority.” “In this case, law enforcement officers did not find the physical goods at the investigation site. After investigation, it was found that the involved goods were sold by the reported party through a one-click delivery method and were not printed by them. Moreover, the reported store has been closed, and the reported matter is not established. Therefore, there is no obvious inappropriateness in the decision made by the Shuyang County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau not to file the case.”
Currently, Li Enze has filed a lawsuit against Jiongsheng Company and its e-commerce platform in the Beijing Internet Court, and the case has been accepted.
Many of these online stores selling “cigarette cards” emphasize that they are glued and not printed.

Multiple E-commerce Platforms Still Have Many Stores Selling Them
Regarding the harm of “cigarette cards,” Li Enze believes that they easily create a sense of comparison among minors, leading to issues of value orientation; minors are induced to come into contact with cigarettes early due to “cigarette cards”; playing with “cigarette cards” can also lead to theft, robbery, and other issues, as well as problems such as instigation and coercion on campus. The open sale of “cigarette cards” on many e-commerce platforms indicates a failure in platform supervision.
Liao Wenke, former Deputy Director and First-level Inspector of the Department of Sports Hygiene and Arts Education of the Ministry of Education and Supervisor of the Chinese Association of Smoking Control and Health, recently pointed out that it is necessary to ban the sale of “cigarette cards” at the source and call on relevant institutions to strengthen supervision and take effective measures to ban the sale of “cigarette cards.”
On December 2, when The Paper searched for “cigarette cards” on the JD.com app, it was redirected to the “Green Network Plan” page, which includes smoking cessation knowledge, cigarette holder recommendations, smoking cessation product recommendations, and health tips. However, searching for other keywords containing “cigarette cards” on the JD.com app, such as “rare cigarette cards,” “genuine cigarette cards,” and “cigarette card toys,” immediately brings up a large number of stores selling cigarette cards. Searching for “cigarette cards” on the Taobao app and Pinduoduo app also yields many stores selling “cigarette cards.”
The Paper noted that many online stores specialize in selling “cigarette cards,” with some having sales volumes reaching tens of thousands of orders. These online stores often emphasize that they are “genuine cigarette cards,” “have glue marks,” “are not printed,” and are “scarce.” However, The Paper randomly purchased three orders and found that two of them seemed to be printed products without glue marks upon arrival. In response, one of the stores denied printing them themselves, claiming that they were “newly recycled and cut from cigarette factories” and not fake, saying, “Fake ones won’t have anti-counterfeiting marks or water transfer printing. We can’t print this kind ourselves, and it’s also illegal to do so.” The store staff also said, “If you want ones with glue, we have them too.”
The National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation Respond to the Issue of “Cigarette Cards”
Li Enze pointed out that the production and sale of “cigarette cards” violate multiple provisions of the “Minor Protection Law” and the “Advertising Law,” such as the prohibition of promoting tobacco products and sending any form of tobacco advertisements to minors. Additionally, the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Tobacco Monopoly” stipulates that only designated enterprises can print tobacco product trademark labels.
Li Enze told The Paper that around Children’s Day this year, he sent a letter to relevant state departments as a parent, reflecting the issue of the illegal production and sale of “cigarette cards” affecting the physical and mental health of minors. He suggested strengthening the supervision of the production, sale, use, and advertising of “cigarette cards” and developing “paper cards” that incorporate traditional Chinese folk culture and are beneficial to the physical and mental health of minors to replace “cigarette cards.”
On July 4, the National Health Commission replied to Li Enze in writing, stating that they highly value the issue of the illegal production and sale of “cigarette cards” affecting the physical and mental health of minors, have organized special research and held symposia to listen to the opinions of experts and staff from health, market regulation, and other departments in some regions. In the next step, the commission will actively collaborate with relevant departments, build consensus, strengthen positive publicity and education, and guide minors to stay away from the hazards of tobacco.
On July 18, the State Administration for Market Regulation