Key points:
·The Finance Committee of the South Korean National Assembly passed a revision of the Tobacco Business Act, which includes "tobacco" or "nicotine" within the scope of tobacco definition.
·This officially classifies synthetic nicotine as part of the tobacco industry. The new law is also expected to increase government revenue by 930 billion Korean Won (approximately 7 million US dollars).
·The implementation of the law will be delayed by two years. In addition, the restriction on the distance of e-cigarette retail stores from each other will be limited in order to reduce the impact on small businesses.
On September 23, 2025, according to Kuki News, the South Korean National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee held a meeting of the Economic and Financial Subcommittee and passed a revision to the Tobacco Business Act that would classify synthetic nicotine as tobacco. The amendment expands the definition of tobacco from "tobacco leaves" (the source of natural nicotine) to "tobacco" or "nicotine.
Synthetic nicotine has been widely used in e-cigarettes because of its low cost, but current laws do not classify it as tobacco, therefore it is not taxed. This has resulted in it being sold even near vending machines or schools, causing concerns among citizen groups about the potential increase in youth smoking rates due to synthetic nicotine.
The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare investigated 69 items in synthetic nicotine e-liquid and found that it contains harmful substances at 1.9 times the level of natural nicotine. In light of this, the revised bill plans to delay the implementation of distance restrictions for e-cigarette retail stores for two years in order to reduce its impact on small businesses.
Since 2016, discussions on regulating synthetic nicotine have been suspended due to opposition from the industry. However, substantive progress in the discussions was only made after the Ministry of Health and Welfare released a research report in November 2024 that contained a large amount of harmful substances.
The revised bill must be approved by the full meeting of the Planning and Finance Committee and the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee before it can be submitted to the full meeting. Once implemented, it is expected to increase tax revenue by approximately 930 billion Korean won (about 7 billion US dollars) annually.
Previously, National Power Party lawmaker Song Eon-seok estimated, based on data provided by the Ministry of Finance, Customs, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, that the uncollected taxes on synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes from 2021 to August 2024 have reached a staggering 3.3895 trillion Korean won (approximately 24 billion USD).
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