Market regulators have decided to ban online sales and advertising of e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns that vaping and a fledgling online market may victimize minors, a government notice said on Friday.

Producers and sellers of electronic cigarettes are urged to shut down websites and other online portals, as well as suspend related advertising.

E-commerce platforms are also required to remove retailers selling e-cigarettes and pull their merchandise, according to a statement released by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

The ban takes effect immediately.

It is believed that electronic cigarettes have lured minors into regular nicotine use.

Last August, China forbade the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 18 years of age, but they are still available across the country's bustling marketplace where age verification is harder to implement.

According to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, research has shown that vaping businesses tend to target young people with their advertising campaigns.