Asian Tech Press (Sep 13) -- Shares of e-cigarette giant RLX Technology Inc (RLX: New York) plunged after the U.S. denied millions of marketing applications for e-cigarettes.

RLX shares fell 16.81% to close at $5.74 per share on Sept. 10. And it was down 1.22% in after hours trading on Monday at $5.67 per share.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a decision on Sept. 9 that no e-cigarette brand has been approved for Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs).

The official announcement released by the FDA stated that over 6 million applications for e-cigarette products were received and action has been taken on 93% of them, with the remaining 7% yet to be processed.

In addition, on September 10, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong held a meeting to complete its deliberations on the legislative amendments to ban e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products. And the bill will resume its second reading in the Legislative Council next month, and the Hong Kong government expects to pass it before the end of October.

Once the bill is passed, it will most likely affect Hong Kong's function as a transit point for e-cigarette exports overseas.

In addition to the e-cigarette giant, the share price of the e-cigarette OEM, Smoore International Holdings Ltd (6969: Hong Kong), has also been affected. As of press time, Smoore shares fell 15.26% to HK$35.25 per share.