Police have declined to refer to prosecutors a case against a company accused of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act by advertising nicotine-free e-cigarettes with phrases such as "the more you smoke, the healthier you become," it emerged belatedly. Although a revised Tobacco Business Act that classifies even synthetic nicotine as tobacco has taken effect, products that are difficult to regulate under current law — including nicotine-free and nicotine-analog items — remain on the market, prompting calls to close the regulatory gaps.
According to reporting by The Seoul Economic Daily on the 26th, the Hwaseong West Police Station in Gyeonggi Province closed its investigation in July without referring the case to prosecutors. The complaint had been filed in April by the Korea Electronic Cigarette Association against R, a nicotine-free e-cigarette company, alleging a violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. The specific grounds for the decision were not confirmed.
According to the complaint obtained by this newspaper, the association argued that R sold its products without approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety while advertising them as if they had medical benefits. Such advertising could mislead consumers into believing the products help them quit smoking or improve their health, in violation of Article 61, Paragraph 2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, the complaint said.
The complaint stated that R used phrases such as "the more you smoke, the healthier you become," "a nicotine-free cigarette that helps you quit smoking," "0% harmful substances" and "innovative health-oriented vaping" in advertisements on its own online store and on social media. It also alleged that the company continued to run identical or similar advertisements on social media even after receiving administrative guidance from the local public health center.
An official at the Korea Electronic Cigarette Association said the group had been notified of the decision by police, adding that as the complainant it was not in a position to file an appeal.
Separately from the R case, problems surrounding the oversight of nicotine-free and nicotine-analog products are continuing. When the government collected and analyzed 105 liquid inhalant products sold online as "nicotine-free" in June, it found nicotine or a nicotine analog in 25 of them, or 23.8%. Nicotine was detected in 13 products, while 6-methylnicotine, a type of nicotine analog, was found in 12. 6-methylnicotine acts similarly to nicotine but has not been sufficiently assessed for toxicity in Korea or abroad.
Imports of nicotine analogs have also been concentrated in this year. According to the Korea Customs Service, 13 tons of the roughly 15 tons of nicotine analogs cleared through customs between October last year and May this year arrived this year. The government has recommended that sales of products found to contain nicotine analogs be halted and has asked online platforms to block their sale, while also tightening oversight by checking for the relevant substances at the import declaration stage.
Within the industry, there are concerns that regulating individual substances each time a new one appears has its limits. Lee Byung-joon, chairman of the Korea Electronic Cigarette Industry Association, said new chemical substances beyond nicotine analogs could emerge, and that a game of "hide-and-seek" in which regulation chases each new substance would inevitably repeat itself. He also raised concerns that products outside the regulatory net could shift toward more aggressive use of flavoring agents and similar additives.
The upshot, industry figures say, is that liquid e-cigarettes should be defined as a separate product category distinct from conventional tobacco, with management standards tailored to them. Rather than adding individual substances to the list of regulated items one by one, the approach would bring liquid products into the formal regulatory system and set detailed standards for permitted ingredients and safety. Lee said liquid e-cigarettes need to be newly defined separately from conventional tobacco, and stressed that permissible levels should also be set for flavoring agents so that products exceeding a certain threshold cannot be sold.
