Tobacco Business Act Amendment Regulating Synthetic Nicotine Passes National Assembly Plenary Session

Synthetic Nicotine E-Cigarettes Now Subject to Regulation
Law Amended Nine Years After Discussions Began in 2016

The amendment to the Tobacco Business Act, which includes liquid-type electronic cigarettes under the definition of tobacco, was passed at the National Assembly plenary session on December 2.

On this day, the National Assembly held a plenary session in the afternoon and passed the amendment to the Tobacco Business Act with 247 votes in favor and 3 abstentions out of 250 members present.

On the morning of the 21st, one day before the final appeal hearing of the 50 billion won 'tobacco lawsuit' that the National Health Insurance Service and tobacco companies have been engaged in for 12 years, a cigarette display stand at a convenience store in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

This amendment expands the definition of tobacco from the existing "leaves of tobacco," which are the raw material for natural nicotine, to "tobacco or nicotine." As a result, synthetic nicotine, which has been considered a "blind spot for youth smoking," will now be included in the tobacco category, making it subject to taxation and stricter sales regulations.

The amendment to the Tobacco Business Act passed the Strategy and Finance Committee in September, nine years after legislative discussions began, but was once put on hold at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on November 12. At that time, ruling and opposition party members of the committee pointed out the need to regulate stockpiled quantities before the law takes effect and to verify the harmfulness of nicotine analogs other than synthetic nicotine. In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance shortened the grace period for the law's implementation to four months and introduced supplementary measures, such as requiring a harmfulness assessment before the sale of manufactured tobacco products produced prior to the law's enforcement.

The amendment also includes measures to protect retailers of electronic cigarettes. Under the current Tobacco Business Act, only those designated as tobacco retailers are permitted to sell tobacco. Considering concerns that electronic cigarette stores may be unable to obtain retailer designation due to distance restrictions between tobacco sales outlets and may be forced to close, the amendment introduces a two-year grace period for the distance restriction for designated retailers after the law takes effect.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.