They mislead potential consumers by falsely claiming that their products are harmless and effective for quitting tobacco use, and associate vaping with a fashionable and trendy lifestyle, the administration said in a release explaining the ban.

"A quick search of online shopping platforms returns many results for electronic cigarettes, and some retailers boast total sales of hundreds of thousands of packages," said Wang Ke'an, a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Traditional tobacco products are banned from online sales, and electronic types should be treated equally," he said.

In China, the market for electronic cigarettes is rife with substandard products. They are often adulterated with harmful substances that are intended to diversify their flavor and color, according to the administration. Leaking tobacco juice and malfunctioning batteries also create hazards.

"There are at least 15,000 types of additives that can be put in e-cigarettes to create a range of flavors from mint to tropical fruits," said Sun Jiani, an officer with the WHO China Representative Office.