HNB National Standard Solicits Public Comments; Novel Tobacco Industry Chain Achieves Substantive Breakthrough @GLMS

English summary

Milestone event: On July 28, 2026, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration released the draft mandatory national standard for 'Heated Cigarettes' for public comment, with feedback due by September 26. Core progress: Product definition: Tobacco substrate must come from tobacco leaves, re-dried tobacco leaves, reconstituted tobacco leaves, or cut tobacco; herbal nicotine-added products are excluded. Safety red lines: Heater surface temperature ≤380°C, lip contact temperature ≤55°C; average nicotine release per puff ≤0.2 mg; devices must have child-resistant and accidental activation prevention functions. Pilot pace (industry information): First batch of devices may use unified standards; sales may gradually start. Technical path may adopt needle heating + sheet technology. Timeline: Project approved on May 7, formal comment solicitation on July 28, submitted for approval by end of September. Highlights: China sells approximately 2 trillion traditional cigarettes annually, corresponding to tax and profit of RMB 1.66 trillion. After shifting to heated cigarettes, reconstituted sheet usage per cigarette is 5-8 times that of traditional cigarettes, flavors and fragrances up to 10 times, and cigarette paper value increases more than 2 times. It will also be an important category for China Tobacco's overseas expansion. …