The South Korean government plans to amend the law to include synthetic nicotine in tobacco regulation

South Korea's government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to designate synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco, according to officials on Wednesday, in an effort to regulate a product category that is becoming increasingly popular among young smokers.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to push for amendments to the law to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco under the Tobacco Commerce Act, officials said.

In South Korea, tobacco-related laws are the National Health Promotion Law under the Ministry of Health and the Tobacco Business Law under the Ministry of Finance.

According to the laws, tobacco products are "made from tobacco leaves, in whole or in part, in a state suitable for smoking, sucking, inhaling smoke, chewing or smelling."

According to this regulation, synthetic nicotine e-liquid is not a tobacco product. As a result, synthetic nicotine is currently not subject to regulatory measures in South Korea.

The decision to amend the law came after British American Tobacco recently announced it was considering launching a new synthetic nicotine product in South Korea. South Korea is the only country in the world where tobacco giants are considering launching synthetic nicotine products.

"We have decided to push for a revision of the tobacco industry law at the opening of the 22nd National Assembly," a health ministry official said. He added, "We will provide the necessary materials to the Treasury Department, and there is already substantial evidence that synthetic nicotine is tobacco."