BAT Plans to Launch Synthetic Nicotine E-Cigarette "Nomad" in South Korea

British American Tobacco (BAT) plans to launch the synthetic nicotine e-cigarette "Nomad" in South Korea by the end of this month, according to a report by N.News on November 11.

According to industry reports on the 11th, the South Korean subsidiary of BAT will launch an e-cigarette called "Nomad" that uses synthetic nicotine. It has a capacity of 10 milliliters and will be priced at 17,000 Korean won (12 US dollars).

According to reports, BAT has chosen to launch synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in South Korea because the country has not yet classified them as "tobacco." Under current tobacco laws, only products containing tobacco leaves as ingredients are considered tobacco, so synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes do not fit this definition and are not subject to taxes or additional fees. 

This allows their prices to be lower than traditional tobacco or HNB e-cigarettes. Synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes can be sold online, which means consumers may actually pay less than the official retail price. Additionally, there are no penalties for selling these products to minors, and they do not need to carry warning labels and images like regular tobacco products.

Calls within the South Korean parliament have been made to quickly implement relevant regulatory measures. From July to October of this year, nine legislative amendments related to synthetic nicotine tobacco have been proposed.

Kim Yoon, a Democratic Party lawmaker, stated that research from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes have the same harmful effects as traditional tobacco cigarettes, including carcinogens and reproductive toxicity. He pointed out that current laws do not regulate synthetic nicotine products as they are not covered under existing tobacco regulations.

National Power Party member Han Ji-ah also pointed out, "While they are considered tobacco in reality, they are not classified as tobacco under the law."