Liquid e-cigarettes (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – In a significant shift in tobacco policy, South Korea’s Ministry of Finance has indicated support for regulating synthetic nicotine products under the country’s Tobacco Business Act, following new research that challenges claims about their safety.
A comprehensive study commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare has found that synthetic nicotine, widely used in liquid e-cigarettes, contains substantial amounts of harmful substances, contradicting industry claims about its purity and safety compared to tobacco-derived nicotine.
The research revealed that synthetic nicotine base liquid contained 23,902 mg/L of harmful substances across 41 different categories, compared to 12,509 mg/L across 45 categories in tobacco-derived nicotine. The study also detected tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in synthetic nicotine, including high concentrations of carcinogenic NNN and NNK precursors, disputing vendors’ assertions about its superior purity.
“The claim that synthetic nicotine is a ‘pure’ substance is not factual,” the research report stated, recommending that synthetic nicotine be regulated similarly to tobacco-derived nicotine, following the approach of countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
Currently, synthetic nicotine products in South Korea exist in a regulatory vacuum. They are exempt from tobacco taxes and surcharges, warning label requirements, advertising restrictions, and online sales limitations. Even selling these products to minors carries no legal penalties.
The regulatory gap has created opportunities for major industry players. On November 25, British American Tobacco (BAT) launched Nomad Sync 5000, the world’s first synthetic nicotine e-cigarette from a global tobacco company, choosing South Korea as its inaugural market.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has expressed concern about the rapid spread of liquid e-cigarettes among youth, advocating for an expanded definition of tobacco products to include nicotine-containing items for better prevention of youth smoking.
Among the 38 OECD member countries, only South Korea, Japan, and Colombia do not regulate synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes as tobacco products.
Ten bills to amend the Tobacco Business Act are currently pending in the National Assembly, including proposals by lawmakers Park Sung-hoon and Han Ji-a to broaden the definition of tobacco products from those containing “tobacco leaves” to those containing “tobacco and nicotine.”
However, the path to regulation faces obstacles. At a recent Economic and Finance Subcommittee meeting, some lawmakers expressed concerns about potential impacts on small business owners and called for public hearings, suggesting the legislation might not pass within the year.
A Ministry of Finance official noted that if synthetic nicotine products are classified as tobacco, they would automatically become subject to taxation under the Individual Consumption Tax Act.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
