The South Korean government plans to pass a bill that would bring synthetic nicotine under regulation

South Korean officials revealed Wednesday that the government plans to amend tobacco-related laws to designate synthetic nicotine as a type of tobacco in order to regulate a product category that is becoming increasingly popular among young smokers.

According to officials, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance plan to push for legal amendments to include synthetic nicotine in the definition of tobacco in the Tobacco Business Act. In Korea, tobacco-related laws are enacted under the National Health Promotion Law under the Ministry of Health and the Tobacco Business Law under the Ministry of Finance.

These laws define tobacco products as "products made from tobacco leaves, in whole or in part, suitable for smoking, sucking, vaping, chewing, or smelling." According to the above statement, the liquid of synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes is not classified as tobacco. As a result, synthetic nicotine is not currently subject to regulatory measures, such as labels that require warnings of potential health problems.

In addition, there is currently no legal basis to penalize the sale of synthetic nicotine to minors, nor does it apply to tobacco-related taxes.

The decision to amend the law comes against the backdrop of British American Tobacco's recent announcement that it is considering launching a new synthetic nicotine product in South Korea. South Korea is the only country in the world where the multinational tobacco giant is considering launching a synthetic nicotine product.

"We have decided to push for amendments to the Tobacco Business Act at the opening of the 22nd National Assembly," a health Ministry official said. "We will provide the necessary information to the Treasury Department," he added. "There is already substantial evidence that synthetic nicotine is tobacco."

At present, the proportion of atomized electronic cigarettes in the overall domestic tobacco market continues to increase, reaching 16.9% of total sales in 2023.