South Korea Plans To Include Synthetic Nicotine in Tobacco Regulation, Electronic Cigarette Product Prices May Rise Significantly

South Korea plans to include synthetic nicotine in tobacco regulation, electronic cigarette product prices may rise significantly

The South Korean parliament is considering six proposals to regulate synthetic nicotine, including a new tax on e-cigarettes, which could lead to a 3.5-5-fold increase in e-liquid prices and spark strong opposition from the e-cigarette industry.

According to AFP BB News on October 13th, the South Korean National Assembly is actively promoting regulatory legislation for synthetic nicotine, especially the setting of electronic cigarette tax rates, which has attracted attention.

According to data from the South Korean National Assembly Act Information System, as of September 30th, six proposals to amend the Tobacco Industry Act have been submitted to the National Assembly, aimed at bringing synthetic nicotine under regulatory control.

The South Korean Ministry of Health and Ministry of Planning and Finance are studying the policy of defining synthetic nicotine as tobacco. Once these amendments are passed, all products containing synthetic nicotine will be considered tobacco and subject to price and non price regulations.

However, the electronic cigarette industry strongly opposes this. According to the current weight based tax system, the price of 30ml e-liquid nicotine products may soar from 20000 Korean won ($15) to 70000 Korean won ($52) to 100000 Korean won ($74). Therefore, the industry advocates that the tax system should shift from being based on e-liquid capacity to being based on price.

Experts say that if a unified tax system is implemented for products with different nicotine contents, the open electronic cigarette market will face a huge impact. Meanwhile, British American Tobacco, which plans to launch its synthetic nicotine product "Nomad" in November, is closely monitoring regulatory developments. Faced with criticism about its use of regulatory gaps to sell products, the company has expressed support for appropriate regulation of synthetic nicotine products.

The Korea Institute for Health Promotion and Development emphasizes that current laws do not provide a legal basis for regulating synthetic nicotine, and from the perspective of protecting national health, all tobacco products require similar regulatory measures.