The Danger of Synthetic Nicotine E-cigarettes in South Korea

According to South Korean media outlet "NEWS 1," on May 9th, many unscrupulous businesses in South Korea are taking advantage of lax market regulation to sell synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes. These businesses are not only failing to implement age verification for customers, they are even hiring minors to purchase e-cigarettes using someone else's identity.

A 15-year-old South Korean student expressed curiosity every time passing by an e-cigarette store, stating: "I always feel that e-cigarettes are less dangerous than regular cigarettes. I can't help but take a look every time I pass by the store."

Due to the presence of synthetic nicotine in e-cigarettes, they are not currently classified as "tobacco products" under existing laws, allowing this type of e-cigarette to proliferate on unattended vending machines and online sales platforms. Research suggests that nine out of ten e-cigarettes sold on the market contain this chemical substance. According to a report from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), by the end of 2023, 52 out of 62 unattended tobacco vending stores nationwide (83.9%) lack a robust age verification system (such as ID checks or credit card verification) and do not display signs prohibiting entry for those under 19 years of age.

In addition, there is a prevalent and potentially dangerous business practice of adding pure nicotine liquid to synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes to increase their potency. Despite regulations stipulating that products with nicotine concentrations exceeding 2% require separate business permits, this has not stopped the widespread trend of nicotine augmentation.

The report states that a branch of a tobacco shop responded when asked if they could increase the nicotine content by saying, "Although most synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes have a nicotine concentration of less than 1%, we can increase it to 3%.

The issue of e-commerce is more serious, according to data from the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 92.2% of e-cigarettes sold online contain synthetic nicotine. On e-commerce platforms, teenagers can easily create accounts and purchase these products as long as they know an adult's ID number. Unlike traditional cigarettes which are not allowed to be sold in "buy one, get one free" deals or with coupons, e-cigarettes are heavily promoted in various marketing activities. Searching for "e-cigarette" on YouTube will bring up numerous videos recommending the products. On social media, it is also easy to find comments left by teenagers who have purchased and tried e-cigarettes through proxy shopping. It is clear that current regulations regarding synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes are still in a state of regulatory ambiguity.