On the 25th, the draft amendment to the Tobacco Business Act, which categorizes synthetic nicotine used in liquid electronic cigarettes as tobacco, passed through the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee. The committee held a general meeting in the morning to approve the amendment, which expands the definition of tobacco from “tobacco leaf” (the natural nicotine source) to include “tobacco” or “nicotine.” If synthetic nicotine is classified as tobacco, it will be subject to the same regulations as existing tobacco products.
The amendment also includes a provision to defer the enforcement of distance restrictions between electronic cigarette retail shops for two years, to minimize the impact on small business owners. Discussions on regulating synthetic nicotine started in 2016 but faced industry opposition and have been stalled in the National Assembly for nine years.
It was only in November last year that a study commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare concluded that synthetic nicotine is significantly harmful. If the amendment passes the main session, it will alter the definition of tobacco for the first time in 37 years since the Tobacco Business Act was enacted in 1988. The taxation on synthetic nicotine, which has been previously untaxed, is expected to generate additional tax revenue of approximately 930 billion won annually.