On April 24th, South Korea’s revised Tobacco Business Act officially came into effect. With the implementation of the new law, synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes, which have long been in a regulatory gray area, have been explicitly included in the definition of “tobacco.” This change, seemingly just a supplement to the legal text, has effectively reshaped the regulatory boundaries of e-cigarettes in South Korea and provides a representative example for e-cigarette regulation trends in Asia and even globally.
For a considerable period, synthetic nicotine products were favored by some companies and consumers largely due to their “non-traditional tobacco source” attribute. Because nicotine is not extracted from tobacco leaves, these products are considered not entirely equivalent to tobacco products in some countries, thus operating outside the existing regulatory system. South Korea’s amendment is a response to this reality.
From a legal perspective, the new Tobacco Business Act no longer uses the source of nicotine as the distinguishing standard, but instead uses “whether it contains nicotine and whether it is for inhalation” as the core judgment criteria. This means that regardless of whether nicotine is extracted from tobacco or synthesized chemically, as long as the product’s form and use meet the characteristics of e-cigarettes, it will be included in the tobacco regulatory framework.
This change directly leads to the unification of regulatory authority. Previously, synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in South Korea were mainly indirectly regulated by food or chemical-related regulations, with fragmented enforcement bodies and inconsistent standards. After the new law takes effect, these products will be subject to systematic regulation in areas such as taxation, sales channels, and advertising, just like traditional e-cigarettes.
The South Korean government emphasized in its explanation of the amendment that this move is not targeted at any specific company or product, but rather aims to fill loopholes in the system and ensure the consistency and enforceability of regulation. From the regulatory authorities’ perspective, allowing synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes to remain outside the tobacco legal system for a long time would not only weaken the effectiveness of existing tobacco control policies but also easily lead to unfair market competition.
From the industry’s reaction, this adjustment is not surprising. Even during the legislative discussion phase, there were numerous public debates in South Korea about whether synthetic nicotine should be considered tobacco. Public health groups generally support including it in the definition of tobacco, arguing that regulatory standards should not differ based on different technological approaches. Some companies worry that the new law may increase compliance costs and shrink market space.
It’s worth noting that the new law does not outright reject synthetic nicotine technology itself, but rather incorporates it into the existing regulatory system. This means that related products are not prohibited, but must be registered, declared, and sold according to tobacco product standards. This approach reflects a characteristic of South Korea’s regulatory approach: reducing ambiguity through clear rules, rather than simply banning it.
On the sales side, after the new law takes effect, synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes will be subject to the same channel restrictions as other tobacco products. For example, sales to minors will be prohibited, online transactions will be restricted, and retail outlets will be subject to registration management. The implementation of these measures will directly impact the market structure.
For consumers, in the short term, they may feel changes in price and purchasing convenience. The inclusion of taxes and the tightening of channels will be reflected at the retail level. However, from a regulatory perspective, this change is seen as a necessary price to pay for regulating market order.
In a broader international context, this legislative move by South Korea is not an isolated event. In recent years, more and more countries have begun to re-examine the legal status of synthetic nicotine products. Some regulatory agencies have realized that relying solely on raw material sources for regulation is insufficient to address the rapidly evolving forms of new products.
In this trend, product “function” and “usage” are increasingly becoming the core of regulatory judgment. This means that future compliance priorities for e-cigarettes and related products will focus more on ingredient disclosure, production standards, and sales management, rather than simply differentiating by technological path.
This change will also impact the upstream of the industry chain. For manufacturing plants, whether in OEM or ODM models, greater attention needs to be paid to changes in the legal definitions of target markets. From the initial product design stage, the differences in the standards for defining “tobacco” in different countries must be considered.
For example, e-cigarette device manufacturers like VEEHOO, when providing OEM and ODM services to overseas brands, often need to adjust product structure, labeling, and documentation according to the regulatory requirements of different markets. After the new South Korean law came into effect, there will be no longer any “ambiguity” in the application process and compliance materials for synthetic nicotine-related products targeting that market.
In OEM collaborations, factories need to ensure that production processes, raw material sources, and batch management meet the regulatory requirements for tobacco products. This includes stricter record-keeping and quality traceability mechanisms. While these requirements may increase operating costs, in the long run, they help improve the standardization of the entire supply chain.
Under the ODM model, the impact is even more pronounced. The design phase needs to consider the potential future regulatory environment to avoid frequent modifications due to changing definitions. This places higher demands on factories’ understanding of regulations and cross-market experience.
It’s worth noting that South Korea’s latest legislation does not address any claims regarding medical or health benefits. The law focuses on definition and management, emphasizing product attributes and market order. This also sets clear boundaries for companies in communicating compliance.
From an industry perspective, this “define first, regulate later” approach may become a reference path for more countries. Compared to repeatedly issuing temporary bans, clearly defining product categories through law helps reduce policy fluctuations and improve regulatory predictability.
For companies, predictability itself is a crucial resource. When rules are clear, companies can more easily assess risks and plan investments, rather than repeatedly testing the waters in gray areas. This is especially important for factories that have long been engaged in manufacturing and export.
Of course, the effectiveness of the new law remains to be seen. Enforcement standards, supporting regulations, and market feedback will all influence the final direction of the policy. However, it is certain that the era of “a separate set of rules” for synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes in South Korea is over.
From the closure of the Richmond office to the implementation of the new South Korean law, the changes in the global e-cigarette industry over the past year share a common characteristic: regulation is evolving towards a more systematic and refined direction. Both brands and manufacturers need to adapt to this change.
For factories like VEEHOO, whose main business is OEM and ODM, continuously monitoring changes in legal definitions in various countries and translating them into specific requirements at the production and design levels has become part of their daily work. In an environment of increasingly detailed regulations, stability, compliance, and transparency are becoming among the most important keywords in the industry chain.
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