The Ministry of the Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) on Thursday announced the ban, which will see those who breach the law face fines of up to 20 million won and prison sentences of to two years. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has announced plans to ban the sale of vaporizer multivitamin products for adolescents from next week, over fears that they could act as a gateway to tobacco products.
The Ministry of the Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) on Thursday announced the ban, which will see those who breach the law face fines of up to 20 million won and prison sentences of to two years.
The products subject to the new law include vitamin vaporizers such as VitaStik, Relaxtik, Vitamini, and Vitalong, as well as smoking-cessation aids such as Tabacare and Change.
Vitamin vaporizers, which offer a liquid form of vitamins that can be vaporized, have faced accusations in South Korea of encouraging smoking among young people, due to the obvious similarities to tobacco-based products.
The sale of vitamin vaporizers was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last October, after they were categorized as multivitamin supplements, but there hadn’t been any regulations prohibiting minors from purchasing the products until now.
“With the sales ban of vitamin vaporizers for adolescents, we hope to establish a precedent for regulations against products that could encourage smoking, to help tackle juvenile smoking,” said Lee Gi-soon, a senior official from the Ministry of the Gender Equality and Family.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
