South Korean government pushes for legislation to include synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in tobacco regulation

South Korean government pushes for legislation to include synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in tobacco regulation

The South Korean government is pushing for legislation to bring synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes under the scope of tobacco product regulation and has proposed several bills to fill loopholes in the current law.

According to The Korea Times on November 27, the South Korean government and lawmakers are working to curb their use by legislating to include synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in the scope of "tobacco products."

Park Sung-hoon, a lawmaker from the ruling People's Power Party, said on Wednesday (27th) that a report he received from the Ministry of Health showed that synthetic nicotine may have a variety of effects on the health of users.

Based on this result, the government is seeking to expand the legal definition of tobacco to regulate synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes. A study shows that the addictiveness of this substance is comparable to heroin or cocaine. Currently, South Korea's tobacco law only narrowly defines tobacco products as products made from the leaves of tobacco plants. As a result, some companies are studying synthetic nicotine products.

Previously, British American Tobacco (BAT) launched the synthetic nicotine e-cigarette "NOMAD SYNC 5000." If the current law remains unchanged, the product will not be considered a "tobacco leaf product" subject to multiple taxes and special charges.

In recent months, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in the South Korean National Assembly to fill legal loopholes, and legislative negotiations are expected to make progress in the coming weeks and months.

The latest bill, introduced by Rep. Kim Yoon and 10 other lawmakers from South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday (26th), aims to redefine tobacco products and attempt to bring synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes under the regulatory scope.

Another group of 11 lawmakers, led by Democratic Rep. Jeon Jin-sook, in addition to expanding the definition of legal tobacco, also sought to require sellers to put warnings on e-cigarette packaging like cigarette sellers.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has pledged to support such legislation to more effectively regulate the use of new nicotine products and raise public awareness of their harmfulness.