Korean Government Plans to Regulate Synthetic Nicotine Products
According to South Korean media KoreaTimes, on May 15th, the government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to classify synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco in order to regulate the product category. This product category is becoming increasingly popular among young smokers.
According to officials, the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to amend the law to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco within the Tobacco Business Act. In South Korea, laws related to tobacco fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health under the National Health Promotion Act, while the Tobacco Business Act is overseen by the Ministry of Finance. Tobacco products are defined as "products made with tobacco as all or part of the raw material, manufactured in a form suitable for smoking, sucking, inhaling smoke, chewing, or sniffing".
According to this argument, liquid for synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes does not fall under tobacco regulations. As a result, synthetic nicotine is currently not subject to regulatory measures such as requiring warning labels for potential health issues. There is also no legal basis for penalties for selling tobacco to minors, and no need to pay tobacco-related taxes.
This follows the recent announcement by British American Tobacco Company that they are considering launching a new synthetic nicotine product in the country, leading to the decision to make legal revisions. South Korea is the only country in the world where a global tobacco giant is considering launching synthetic nicotine products.
An official from the Ministry of Health stated, "We have decided to push for revisions to the tobacco industry law at the opening of the 22nd National Congress." He added, "We will provide the necessary materials to the Ministry of Finance, and there is already ample evidence proving that synthetic nicotine is indeed tobacco.
The market share of e-cigarettes in the overall tobacco market in the country continues to increase, and is expected to reach 16.9% of total sales by 2023.
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