South Korea’s Synthetic Nicotine Regulation Leaves E-Cigarette Industry Anxious
South Korea is accelerating its efforts to implement legislation regulating synthetic nicotine, a move that has the e-cigarette industry on edge. The primary concern for the industry is how tax rates will be set, as this could have a significant impact on the entire sector if the regulations are put into place.
As of September 30, six bills aimed at amending the Tobacco Business Act to regulate synthetic nicotine had been submitted to the National Assembly. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Minister of Strategy and Finance are also considering a policy that would define synthetic nicotine as tobacco. If these bills are enacted, all nicotine, including synthetic nicotine, will be classified as tobacco and subject to both price and non-price regulations.
The e-cigarette industry, however, is strongly opposed to the proposed regulations. One of the main concerns is the potential introduction of a weight-based tax system, which could cause the price of a 30ml liquid nicotine product to skyrocket from 20,000 won (approximately $16) to between 70,000 and 100,000 won ($56 to $80). The industry is instead calling for a tax system based on price rather than liquid volume, arguing that a uniform tax system applied to products with varying nicotine content could deal a devastating blow to the open e-cigarette market.
As South Korea moves forward with its plans to regulate synthetic nicotine, experts argue that the same regulations and tax rates should be applied to all tobacco products to protect public health. The e-cigarette industry, meanwhile, remains anxious about the potential impact of these regulations on their businesses and the market as a whole.
- News source: 韓国で合成ニコチン規制法案が加速、神経尖らせる電子たばこ業界
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