New warning phrases and pictures, such as “The road to lung cancer” and “The road to making others sick,” will be displayed on cigarette packs. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Food and Drug Safety Ministry announced on February 6 proposed enforcement regulations requiring tobacco manufacturers to test harmful substances within one month of product launch.
The regulations implement the Tobacco Harm Management Act passed in 2023, which takes effect November 1 this year. The law requires tobacco manufacturers and importers to test their products for harmful substances every two years and submit results to the Food and Drug Safety Ministry for public disclosure. The requirements apply to both conventional cigarettes and electronic tobacco products, including liquid and heated tobacco varieties.
Under the new enforcement ordinance, manufacturers and importers must request testing of currently marketed products within three months of the law’s implementation, with subsequent tests required by June of every second year. New products must undergo testing within one month of market launch.
Testing facilities will be designated by the Food and Drug Safety Ministry based on criteria including International Organization for Standardization (ISO) testing capabilities. Manufacturers must submit test results within 15 days of receiving them, and the ministry will publish information about harmful substances, including toxicity and carcinogenicity data, on its website by December 31 each year.
The ordinance also establishes procedures for developing five-year basic plans and annual implementation plans for systematic tobacco harm management, including research initiatives and policy directions.
Additionally, it creates detailed operating procedures for a Tobacco Harm Management Policy Committee that will review plans and determine the scope of public disclosure. Committee membership explicitly excludes individuals who have received direct or indirect benefits from tobacco manufacturers.
“We will do our utmost to test and transparently disclose harmful substances in tobacco products based on scientific expertise to protect public health and ensure the public’s right to know,” said Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung.
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong added, “We will link harmful substance analysis results with smoking cessation policies to provide smoking prevention and cessation support services that can raise awareness.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
