Smoking in South Korea
In South Korea, smoking is legal and tobacco is subject to a range of regulatory measures. Cigarette sales are permitted to be purchased through vending machines, however, buying them online is not allowed. Importing cigarettes for trade is allowed with appropriate documentations. Additionally, health warnings on their packaging are mandatory, the minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco products including cigarettes is 19 years, and smoking is restricted in public places under national smoke-free legislation. Tobacco advertising is regulated, but a complete ban on all forms of advertising is not in place. Cigarettes are taxed with a total taxation rate of 73.85%, including an excise tax component of 64.76%. As of 2024, South Korea had approximately 8.1 million current smokers, representing an adult current smoking prevalence of 17.6%. Among adult males, the prevalence was substantially higher with 30.2%, compared to 5.1% among adult females. This prevalence was reported to be 18.9% overall in 2022. In 2021, an estimated 44,308 deaths were attributed to tobacco smoking in South Korea, including 35,471 male and 8,837 female deaths. This makes approximately 13.38% of all deaths in the country—19.9% among males and 5.78% among females.
Read articles from South Korea
February 02, 2021 by vapingpost.com
BAT Korea Focuses on Promoting Its Heated Tobacco Product on Its 30th Anniversary
British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea shared results from a study indicating that smokers who used its tobacco heating products (HTPs) reduced their exposure to certain toxicants found in regular cigarettes. The tobacco company said that a total of 13 toxicants, including nicotine, cotinine and aminopathalene, are reduced when one switches from smoking to using HTPs. “The slogan of the BAT Group, ‘A better tomorrow,’ represents [the company’s ambition] to create a better future by reducing the harm our business imposes [on people’s health] through satisfying and less damaging products,” said Kim. [...]
October 02, 2020 by koreaherald.com
[News Focus] Why are Koreans loyal to Korean cigarettes?
Smoking culture in South Korea has seen a great change in the past decades. Smoking indoors and in public areas have been banned, and the number of smokers has been decreasing amid rising health consciousness.
New preferences for flavored cigarettes and less smelly products are proving popular, as well as technologies developed to introduce new ways of using the tobacco leaves, by heating and not burning.
Still, one thing in Korea remains the same. Korean people are loyal to Korean cigarettes, even after over 30 years have passed since a nationwide ban on imported cigarettes was lifted.
September 09, 2020 by koreabiomed.com
'FDA’s marketing order of heat-not-burn tobacco as modified risk should change regulatory regime'
Philip Morris International Korea expects that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s designation of IQOS, its heat-not-burn tobacco, as a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) will prompt a change in the local tobacco regulations.
The FDA grants MRTP status to products that have demonstrated that is expected to benefit the population's health in general by reducing harmful or potentially harmful chemicals, PMI Korea said.
March 27, 2020 by nikkei.com
South Korean court delivers latest blow to e-cigarette makers
E-cigarette makers in South Korea suffered a further setback after the Constitutional Court swiftly dismissed a petition by an industry body challenging the government's warnings against the devices.
The court's decision, issued just two weeks after the original filing by the Korea Electronic Cigarette Association, comes amid increasing government pressure on the once-thriving industry, both in South Korea and elsewhere in Asia. Late last year, India banned e-cigarettes entirely.
January 29, 2020 by koreaherald.com
Rivals join hands for global heated tobacco market
In a rare move in the competitive tobacco industry, South Korea’s KT&G established a strategic alliance with Philip Morris International on Wednesday, to expand the market worldwide for its heat-not-burn cigarette brand lil. The unusual partnership secures a global distribution network for KT&G, which has been domestic-centric until recently, while it would help PMI enhance its campaign of “smoke-free” cigarette products with the added portfolio. [...] “Our agreement will benefit adult smokers in the world by providing a wide array of better choices,” Calantzopoulos said.
December 12, 2019 by koreatimes.co.kr
E-liquids contain lung injury-causing chemical
A substance potentially causing serious lung diseases has been found in liquid e-cigarettes sold here, health authorities said, Thursday. The "vaping" products, however, did not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical that is said to be responsible for most cases of lung damage from vaping reported in the U.S. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced the results of its toxicity tests on seven potentially harmful ingredients in 153 liquid e-cigarette products, or e-liquids, amid growing anxiety among vapers following the health authorities' strong warning against using them issued in October.
September 24, 2019 by koreabiomed.com
Ministry advises smokers to stop using e-cigarettes
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has recommended smokers who use e-cigarettes to refrain from using their devices until it completes investigation into the relationship between the liquid-type e-cigarettes and lung diseases. "After coordinating with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), we will conduct a full-scale investigation for the ingredient analysis of liquid-type e-cigarettes," a health and welfare ministry official said.
February 27, 2019 by koreabiomed.com
‘Heat-not-burn cigarettes as risky as traditional ones’
An expert pointed out how harmful so-called “heat-not-burn” cigarettes could be and offered tips for effective smoking cessation.
Kim Dae-jin, a professor at the psychiatry department at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, said that the new type of tobacco, designed to reduce carcinogens and let users absorb nicotine only, has become another stumbling block for smoking cessation. [...] “Heat-not-burn cigarettes are similar to conventional ones in terms of nicotine addiction because they also deliver nicotine to the brain,” he said.
February 01, 2019 by koreatimes.co.kr
Smoking and vaping
During my 11-plus years in Korea, I have inhaled vast amounts of second-hand smoke. I have never smoked and would never do so, believing it to be a vile and disgusting habit. The deleterious effects of smoking on the human body are legion.
People who light up are more likely to develop lung cancer (not to mention cancer of the mouth, throat, bladder and kidneys), emphysema, diabetes, leukemia, blood clots, high cholesterol, heart disease, strokes, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
January 30, 2019 by filtermag.org
Rise of Heat-Not-Burn Products Coincides With Decrease in Cigarette Sales
Last year, an increase in heat-not-burn (HNB) electronic tobacco product sales in South Korea coincided with a decrease in cigarette sales, causing people who care about public health to pore over the potential significance.
South Korea’s consumer trend could indicate the harm reduction potential of HNB products—which heat tobacco sticks enough to produce nicotine-containing vapor, but not enough to produce smoke—to move smokers off of cigarettes. US federal regulators, meanwhile, say that not enough evidence shows that HNB products reduce harms relative to smoking.