China's e-cigarette boom lacks oversight for safety

Shenzhen

IN a grimy workshop, among boiling vats of chemicals, factory workers are busy turning stainless steel rods into slender tube casings, a crucial component of electronic cigarettes. Not long ago, Skorite Electronics was a tiny firm struggling to produce pen parts. Today, it is part of an enormous - and virtually unregulated - supply chain centred here that produces about 90 per cent of the world's e-cigarettes.

This year, Chinese manufacturers are expected to ship more than 300 million e-cigarettes to the United States and Europe, where they will reach the shelves of Walmarts, 7-Eleven stores, gas station outlets and vaping shops.