I. South Korea releases standards for testing harmful components in tobacco.
According to a statement released by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministry"), in order to cooperate with the implementation of the " Tobacco Harmful Components Management Act ," the Ministry has issued a notice clarifying the targets and methods for testing harmful components in tobacco products. This notice was officially released after being reviewed by the Tobacco Harmfulness Management Policy Committee and the Regulatory Reform Committee.
According to the announcement, the testing targets for cigarettes and heated tobacco products include 44 harmful components, such as nicotine and tar; for e-cigarettes, the testing targets 20 components, including nicotine, propylene glycol, and glycerin. The relevant testing methods reference the standard testing methods established by international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
According to the Tobacco Harmful Components Management Act , tobacco manufacturers and importers are required to commission testing institutions designated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct harmful component testing according to product categories and submit the test results to the regulatory authorities. Currently, the FDA is continuously developing testing methods that can more accurately analyze harmful components in tobacco.
The Food and Drug Administration stated that it will advance the management of harmful components based on scientific evidence and gradually improve the regulatory level of tobacco products. This announcement is expected to lay a solid institutional foundation for the systematic management of information on harmful components in tobacco products and strengthen the protection of public health.
II. KT&G Revises Long-Term Cooperation Terms with Philip Morris International: Obtains Overseas Commercialization Rights for Multiple E-cigarette Platforms
KT&G announced on the 12th that it has revised the key contract terms of its 15-year long-term partnership with Philip Morris International (PMI).
Through this revision, KT&G will acquire overseas commercialization rights for multiple e-cigarette platforms. Furthermore, the minimum guaranteed quantity clause for the sale of "lil-specific cartridges," which originally ran from 2023 until this year, has ended. This period had a minimum guaranteed quantity starting point of 16 billion cartridges.
KT&G stated that from next year to 2028, the new cycle will establish a minimum guarantee volume in three-year units, starting with 11 billion units in the first phase, and the stability of the contract will continue to be maintained.
According to reports, KT&G signed a 15-year cooperation agreement with PMI in 2023. Under the core terms, KT&G supplies PMI with "lil" products, while PMI is responsible for sales in global markets outside of South Korea.
According to Bloomberg, a study published in The Lancet found that nicotine bag use among 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK rose from 0.7% at the beginning of 2022 to 4% in March, with the highest prevalence among young men at 7.5%. In contrast, the overall rate among adults was 1%.
Since 2019, nicotine pouches such as Philip Morris International's Zyn and British American Tobacco's Velo have become rapidly popular in Europe, partly because they are considered less harmful to health than traditional cigarettes and provide a quicker nicotine delivery.
Health experts warn that these tobacco-free nicotine pouches may pose cardiovascular risks and could become an "entry point" for non-smokers to access tobacco products. Among nicotine pouch users surveyed, 69% reported using other nicotine products, 56% smoked, 39% used e-cigarettes, and 16% never smoked regularly. The UK government has stated that, as part of its crackdown on nicotine-related products, it will focus on restricting their use by children.
The Tobacco and E-cigarette Bill, currently under parliamentary review, proposes to phase out cigarettes and includes provisions to ban the sale of nicotine pouches to people under the age of 18, while also regulating packaging to reduce its appeal to young people.
The study also showed that among those who attempted to quit smoking in the past year, the proportion who used nicotine pouches in their most recent attempt rose from 2.6% in October 2020 to 6.5% in March of this year. Researchers noted that more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of nicotine pouches in smoking cessation.
The study is based on data from the Smoking Toolkit Study at University College London (UCL), which involved nearly 128,000 participants, with adults participating from 2020 and teenagers aged 16 to 17 from 2022.
IV. South Korea revises its Tobacco Business Act, formally bringing synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes under regulation.
Recently, the South Korean government held a cabinet meeting at the government building, chaired by President Lee Jae-myung, to review and approve revisions to the Tobacco Business Act. The amendments broaden the definition of tobacco from the natural nicotine raw material "tobacco leaves" to all products containing "tobacco" or "nicotine," explicitly including synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes within the regulatory scope.
South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol stated at the meeting: "Products manufactured four months after the implementation of this law will be regulated as tobacco in accordance with the law. There are limitations in the regulation of so-called counterfeit nicotine (nicotine-free) products manufactured before the implementation of this law . Therefore, these products need to be managed separately and their hazards assessed."
"Currently, e-cigarette products are jointly regulated by multiple departments, but there has been a lack of a clear competent authority for nicotine-free products. In the future, the government plans to establish a safety consultation mechanism by aligning the Chemical Product Safety Law with the Food and Drug Administration's management system for human-suitable products, in order to clarify the competent authority and fill regulatory gaps. "
In response, President Lee Jae-myung stated at the meeting that it was necessary to question the rationale for allowing nicotine alternatives to enter the market without conducting safety tests. The meeting also reported on suspected cases of lung injury related to e-cigarettes.
Previously, these products were not taxed because they were not classified as tobacco products. Koo Yoon-cheol stated that although local governments had attempted to levy local taxes in the past, they lacked a clear legal basis. This amendment will provide a clear foundation for taxation.
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