China’s Tobacco Regulator Mulls Protecting Offline E-Cig Sales

China’s powerful tobacco regulator is weighing whether to stop local authorities from banning the sale of e-cigarettes in brick-and-mortar stores — except for those near schools.

The unreleased policy from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), which oversees, and shares staff and offices with, China National Tobacco Corp., the world’s largest tobacco company by sales, would come even after the body banned all online sales of e-cigarettes earlier this month.