Liquid e-cigarettes, which had not been classified as tobacco until now, are now recognized as tobacco and will be subject to the same regulations as cigarette (leaf) tobacco.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and others on the 19th, an amendment to the Tobacco Business Act that defines liquid e-cigarettes containing synthetic nicotine as tobacco will take effect on the 24th.
Previously, tobacco as defined by the Tobacco Business Act was "manufactured in a state suitable for smoking, sucking, inhaling as vapor, chewing, or smelling, using tobacco leaves as all or part of the raw material." Because of this, liquid e-cigarettes that contain synthetic nicotine rather than tobacco leaves were in a regulatory blind spot.
With the law amended, liquid e-cigarettes will also have to include health warning images or phrases on cigarette pack packaging and tobacco advertising. Vending machines can be installed only after meeting requirements such as installation location and distance standards and obtaining designation as a retailer. Until now, there were cases where people who used liquid e-cigarettes in no-smoking areas did not receive fines, but going forward, fines of up to 100,000 won may be imposed.
The market is watching to see whether the tighter regulations will reduce the liquid e-cigarette smoking rate. According to the Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of 2024, the current-use rate of liquid e-cigarettes among adults 19 and older (the percentage who used liquid e-cigarettes at least once during the month prior to the survey) was tallied at 3.8%. This is the highest level since 2013, when e-cigarettes were included as a survey item.