E-cigarette Liquids Resembling Cosmetics and Paints
Attracting Elementary Students' Attention... Parents Express 'Concerns'
Liquid E-cigarettes Not Classified as Tobacco Under Current Law
"Lemon flavor, apple flavor, ice cream soda flavor."
Near an elementary school in Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Colorful, pretty, and cute characters are drawn on products that at first glance look like cosmetics, capturing the attention of students through the glass window. However, contrary to appearances, these are containers holding liquid used as the main ingredient in liquid-type electronic cigarettes. This e-cigarette store is located less than 300 meters from the elementary school’s main gate.
Liquid for electronic cigarettes was also seen at convenience stores. At a convenience store near the e-cigarette shop, general items and liquid cigarettes were displayed and sold together. Parent Lee Su-yeon (34) said, "When my child reaches the upper grades of elementary school, they start asking what that (e-cigarette) is, and I worry about how to explain it," adding, "Kids these days tend to try things quickly, so as a parent, I am concerned."
Heo Seo-young (36), who has a first-grade elementary school child, also expressed concern, saying, "To some, the liquid cigarette containers might look like paint," and questioned, "Since liquid cigarettes also contain nicotine, shouldn’t they also have health risk warning images?"
Inside an electronic cigarette store, e-liquid bottles with eye-catching, colorful packaging are displayed. [Photo by Shim Seong-a]
A New Approach Needed for E-Cigarette Regulation
The current Tobacco Business Act defines tobacco only as products made from the leaves of the tobacco plant. Tobacco made from parts other than the leaves (such as stems or roots) or nicotine derived from chemicals is not defined as tobacco under the current law. Therefore, liquid-type electronic cigarettes, although similar to tobacco, are not subject to various regulations such as warning labels on cigarette packs, advertising restrictions, or bans on electronic transactions.
There have been attempts to close the blind spots regarding liquid electronic cigarettes. In November last year, the National Assembly attempted to expand the definition of tobacco in the Tobacco Business Act to include "products made from tobacco roots or stems, or synthetic nicotine," through the so-called "E-cigarette Loophole Prevention Act." However, at that time, the Ministry of Economy and Finance opposed, stating, "It is premature to recognize synthetic nicotine as a tobacco raw material," explaining, "Since the toxicity and safety of synthetic nicotine have not been verified, recognizing it as tobacco would mean the government is allowing its distribution."
There has been little change in the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s stance this year. A ministry official said, "The National Assembly requested research on the harmfulness of synthetic nicotine from other ministries, but due to the lack of standardized analysis methods or researchers to analyze it, it is difficult to reach a conclusion."
Concerns about the harmfulness of electronic cigarettes have already been raised in various fields. Recently, a court ruling stated that it is difficult to consider electronic cigarettes less harmful to health than conventional cigarettes. On the 21st of last month, Judge Lee Baek-gyu of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 96 ruled in a damages lawsuit filed by the smokers’ rights group against the Korea Health Promotion Institute, stating, "It is difficult to view electronic cigarettes as less harmful to health than conventional cigarettes," and "Including health risk warning images is not illegal."
There is an electronic cigarette store less than 300 meters from the main gate of an elementary school in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. It has glass walls, allowing electronic cigarette liquid products to be seen from outside. [Photo by Shim Seong-a]
Liquid E-Cigarette Promotion Conceals Health Risks
However, liquid electronic cigarettes are still sold without health risk warning images on their packaging, unlike tobacco defined by law. Lee (21), who started using liquid-type electronic cigarettes as a teenager, said, "Liquid cigarettes have various flavors and I thought they didn’t contain harmful substances, so I started lightly," adding, "Now, I feel empty without e-cigarettes and have been habitually smoking for years."
Some e-cigarette stores in Seoul even introduce RS-nicotine, or "medical nicotine," claiming it allows "healthier smoking." According to data released by the Korea Health Promotion Institute in 2022, RS-nicotine is a definite form of nicotine and is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, and alcohol, with no smoking cessation effects like those of smoking cessation aids.
A 2023 paper published in the American Chemical Society, a prestigious journal in the field of chemistry, titled "Systematic Review of Analytical Methods for Nicotine Enantiomer Separation and Nicotine Source Evaluation," also shows that the effects of synthetic nicotine on humans have not been experimentally tested. In the United States, since 2022, legal amendments have included synthetic nicotine as tobacco and regulate it equally.
Experts point out that the definition of tobacco under the Tobacco Business Act is the biggest obstacle to regulation. Lee Sung-gyu, director of the Korea Tobacco Control Research and Education Center, emphasized, "Defining synthetic nicotine as tobacco would solve the problem," adding, "Regardless of how nicotine is made, once it enters the body, it releases neurotransmitters and harms the body in the same way." A Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, "We continue to monitor synthetic nicotine products, but without legal inclusion in the tobacco definition, we have no legal authority to impose sanctions."
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