SEOUL: The South Korean government said on Wednesday (Feb 4) that all nicotine-based products will be reclassified as tobacco products, in a bid to rein in unregulated sales and promotion of e-cigarettes and vape juice that are in a legal loophole.
The revision to the Tobacco Business Act is set to take effect on April 24, expanding the legal definition of tobacco to include products made from either tobacco leaf or nicotine, synthetic or otherwise, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The change will bring liquid e-cigarettes under the same regulations as conventional tobacco for the first time.
Under the expanded definition, all nicotine-based products must comply with the National Health Promotion Act, which mandates health warnings on packaging and tightly restricts advertising.
Flavoured-product labels, which previously encouraged youth interest, will be prohibited.
Vending machines must be installed only by licensed retailers, equipped with adult-authentication devices and placed in restricted areas such as smoking rooms or adult-only zones.
Violations – including improper advertising, failure to display health warnings or non-compliant vending machine placement – may result in fines of up to 10 million won (US$6,840) or imprisonment for up to one year.
All tobacco products, including liquid-type e-cigarettes, will be banned in designated non-smoking areas, with violators facing penalties of up to 100,000 won.
The ministry will begin inspections at retail shops and unmanned stores in late April to ensure the revised law is enforced.
Officials argue the change closes a longstanding blind spot in tobacco control.
“The expanded definition allows us to respond more effectively to rapidly evolving tobacco products,” said a ministry official, urging manufacturers, retailers and smokers to comply with the new obligations.
E-cigarette vending machines have been spreading across South Korea, raising concerns over easy youth access to liquid-type electronic cigarettes.
As teenage smoking patterns shift rapidly towards flavoured vaping products, officials and experts warn that the lack of a proper certification and regulatory framework has left minors vulnerable.
Recent government surveys showed that liquid e-cigarettes have become the most commonly used tobacco product among female students for the first time, surpassing traditional cigarettes.
Teenagers cite smell and convenience as primary reasons, with e-cigarettes offering candy-, fruit- and floral-scented varieties that are harder for adults to detect.
A recent inspection of 241 e-cigarette vending machines found that 17 lacked age-verification devices and 10 had non-functioning devices, meaning roughly 11 per cent allowed purchases without adult authentication.
At unstaffed e-cigarette shops, 200 out of 241 locations lacked externally installed age-verification systems, despite legal prohibitions on selling tobacco to minors.
Regulators say these shops have thrived in a loophole created by the Tobacco Business Act, which defines tobacco only as products containing tobacco leaf.
Synthetic-nicotine liquid products fell outside the law, allowing unmanned e-cigarette shops to operate without retailer designation, adult-certification requirements or limits on vending machines.
They have also not been classified as youth-restricted facilities, meaning they face fewer obligations than cigarette retailers. - The Korea Herald/ANN
