South Korea Extends Tobacco Regulations to Synthetic Nicotine Products
Beginning this week, South Korea has implemented a full ban on the online sale of liquid e-cigarettes manufactured with synthetic nicotine. These products will also now carry mandatory warning labels, aligning their regulatory treatment with that of conventional tobacco. The Finance Ministry announced these measures as part of the revised Tobacco Business Act. Under the updated legislation, the
definition of tobacco has been broadened to include both natural tobacco leaves and all forms of nicotine, whether naturally derived or synthetic. This revision effectively brings liquid e-cigarettes containing synthetic nicotine into the existing regulatory framework. Consequently, manufacturers and importers of these products are now required to secure approval from the Finance Minister and
register with provincial governments before commencing sales. These expanded regulations also impose taxation on synthetic nicotine products, including an individual consumption tax, once they are distributed in the market. A temporary 50 percent tax reduction will be applied for the next two years to cushion the financial impact on the industry. Furthermore, the revised act explicitly prohibits
online selling, sales to minors, and promotional activities for all products now falling under the expanded tobacco definition. This regulatory shift in South Korea, a nation that in 2011 was one of the first to mandate graphic health warnings on cigarette packs, anticipates a global trend of stricter oversight on an evolving nicotine market, contrasting with years of unregulated online sales in