Liquid e-cigarettes, which had not been classified as tobacco, are now recognized as tobacco and will be subject to the same regulations as combustible (leaf) cigarettes.
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 defined by the Tobacco Business Act was "manufactured in a state suitable for smoking, sucking, inhaling as vapor, chewing, or smelling, using all or part of the leaves of tobacco as raw material." Because of this, liquid e-cigarettes containing synthetic nicotine, not tobacco leaves, were in a regulatory blind spot.
With the law revised, liquid e-cigarettes must now include health warning images or phrases on cigarette packs and in tobacco advertisements. Vending machines can be installed only after meeting requirements such as installation locations and distance standards and receiving designation as a retailer. Until now, there were cases where people were not fined for using liquid e-cigarettes in no-smoking areas, but going forward, fines of up to 100,000 won may be imposed.
The market is watching to see whether stricter regulations will reduce the smoking rate of liquid e-cigarettes. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of 2024, the current-use rate of liquid e-cigarettes among adults aged 19 or older (the proportion who used liquid e-cigarettes at least once in the month prior to the survey) was tallied at 3.8%. This is the highest level since 2013, when e-cigarettes were first included as a survey item.