"Packaging Designed to Appeal to Adolescents... Marketed as Trendy"
"Smoking Rates Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Early 20s Exceed OECD Average"
There are growing concerns that the active marketing of electronic cigarettes targeting young people on online platforms such as social networking services (SNS) is increasing the likelihood of smoking among adolescents.
According to the "No Smoking Issue & Forum No. 87" published by the Korea Health Promotion Institute on May 20, tobacco companies are adopting a variety of promotional and sales strategies for electronic cigarettes to encourage tobacco use among children and adolescents, who are considered their future customers.
These strategies include advertising tobacco products through influencers and using packaging with colors and shapes appealing to young people, portraying them as trendy. Additionally, companies are promoting flavored tobacco products by emphasizing a wide variety of tastes and scents.
Expanding adolescents' access to purchase through unmanned electronic cigarette stores is also one of their sales strategies. As of 2022, the daily smoking rate among 15 to 24-year-olds in South Korea was 12.0%, ranking 17th among the 39 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, the smoking rate among males in this age group was 20.1%, placing South Korea 11th. This figure is more than six times higher than the smoking rate among Canadian males, which is the lowest at 3.0%.
The report expressed concern that the younger people start smoking, the higher the risk of nicotine addiction. It also pointed out, "Attention should be paid to the fact that the smoking rates among Korean adolescents and young adults in their early 20s exceed the OECD average."
Status of Tobacco Product Sales and Advertising Monitoring by Internet Sites and Search Keywords. Korea Health Promotion Institute Report.
In particular, there has been a recent increase in cases where tobacco companies are promoting and selling electronic cigarettes through SNS platforms primarily used by adolescents. According to a 2023 investigation by the National Smoking Cessation Support Center of the Korea Health Promotion Institute into illegal online tobacco sales, proxy purchases, and advertising of tobacco and smoking devices, 1,956 suspected cases of regulatory violations (11.5%) were identified out of a total of 16,950 webpages searched using tobacco-related keywords.
Among these suspected violations, 1,426 cases (72.9%) involved providing sales information for electronic cigarette devices or liquid solutions, which are designated as harmful to youth, without any procedures for verifying age or identity. These were classified as "cases where youth could purchase the products."
A search for posts offering experiences with tobacco products for commercial purposes using tobacco-related keywords on SNS platforms such as blogs, YouTube, and Instagram found that "tobacco recommendation posts or videos" were the most common at 3,295 cases (46.3%). This was followed by tobacco reviews with 2,292 cases (32.2%), tobacco introductions with 473 cases (6.6%), tobacco unboxing with 404 cases (5.7%), and tobacco launches with 333 cases (4.7%).
By product type, posts about "liquid-type electronic cigarette devices and accessories" accounted for more than half at 4,249 cases (56.3%). This was followed by inhalable tobacco products in cigarette form (2,886 cases, 38.0%), and heated tobacco sticks and devices (297 cases, 3.9%).
The report emphasized, "Posts and reviews recommending tobacco products are being exposed through portal sites and SNS, which may encourage use among adolescents," and stressed the need for legislative efforts to expand the scope of regulations on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products targeting new customers such as children and adolescents.
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