Market & legal data for the vapour sector in South Korea

BAT expects new launches to accelerate H2 performance, after revenue drop in H1

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 25th July 2024

British American Tobacco reported a drop in first-half revenue, offset by the continued growth of new categories. BAT expects new-category revenue to be weighted in the second half of 2024, driven by phased launches ...

Vaping after quitting smoking may increase lung cancer risk, study finds

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 3rd June 2024

Former smokers who vape may be more exposed to the risk of contracting lung cancer than those who don’t, according to research conducted in South Korea and recently released in the US ...

What’s in store for 2024? A look at expected regulation in the year ahead

Written by Freddie Dawson | 2nd January 2024

Further regulatory restrictions on e-cigarettes are expected, but these will not prevent the global vaping market from continuing to grow in 2024, ECigIntelligence predicts ...

Innovation through sharing of vape and HT technologies discussed at GTNF

Written by Freddie Dawson | 13th October 2023

Future innovation in vaping and tobacco alternatives is likely to involve environmental improvements and prevention of youth usage, said speakers at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum ...

GTNF speakers warn against letting loudest voices drive vaping regulations

Written by Freddie Dawson | 12th October 2023

Public pressure can drive legislators to make populist decisions on nicotine product regulation that are not based on evidence, warned speakers at the recent Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) in Seoul ...

Vaping companies have little chance to impress in Tobacco Transformation

Written by Barnaby Page | 29th September 2022

Tobacco companies still have some work to do to meet commitments in offering reduced risk alternatives – and when they do, it's often focused elsewhere than the vaping category ...

Where do we go from here? How new rules will affect world vape markets

Written by Freddie Dawson | 31st January 2022

Consumers will continue to increasingly spread usage out over different alternative nicotine products, partly driven by further, stricter vaping regulation across the globe throughout 2022, ECigIntelligence predicts ...

New pictorial warnings come into force in South Korea, but tax hike is averted

Written by ECigIntelligence | 13th January 2021

E-cigarette products marketed in South Korea must now meet new packaging requirements, including disturbing new graphic warnings – but the threat of big tax rises has been set aside for now ...

Korean government aiming to double e-liquid 'health promotion tax' from 2021

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 28th September 2020

South Korea has announced that it intends to double the National Health Promotion fee applied to e-liquids marketed in the country ...

South Korean government claims credit for 80% crash in e-cigarette sales

Written by ECigIntelligence | 11th August 2020

Sales of closed-system e-cigarettes in South Korea were down by 80% in the first half of 2020, a fall attributed by the government to its own ongoing policy efforts to discourage vaping ...

South Korea tries again to prohibit all e-cigarette advertising and promotion

Written by ECigIntelligence | 2nd July 2020

South Korea’s health minister Park Neung-hoo has announced a fresh plan to ban advertising and promotional activities for e-cigarettes and other tobacco-alternative products ...

World No Tobacco Day 2020: the debate about harm reduction

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 31st May 2020

World No Tobacco Day provides an opportunity to consider the approach that public health authorities, policymakers, and advocates around the world have towards the role of tobacco-alternatives products ...

Juul hits hard times as it plans to exit EU markets, US sales drop 10%

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 6th May 2020

Juul is not having the best of times, with an increasing decline in sales leading the company to pull out of South Korea and some European countries – while its sales in the US are...

Korean court rejects complaint against health ministry advice to avoid e-cigs

Written by ECigIntelligence | 25th March 2020

A judge in Seoul has dismissed a petition by the South Korean Electronic Cigarette Association questioning whether reports issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare recommending people not to vape were unconstitutional ...

South Korea plans further restrictions on promotion of tobacco alternatives

Written by ECigIntelligence | 4th February 2020

The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare wants to ban practices such as the offering of discounts for e-cigarette or heated tobacco products and to make events with free giveaways of such products illegal...

South Korean inspectors find labels understate nicotine level in e-liquids

Written by ECigIntelligence | 8th January 2020

The South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection says it tested ten e-liquids labelled as having less than 1% nicotine and found half of them in fact contained more than that ...

BAT launches new HnB in Korea amid government crackdown

Written by ECigIntelligence | 29th November 2019

Late November saw British American Tobacco (BAT) launch its “most advanced” heated tobacco product in South Korea – during a critical political period in which the government has taken a harsh stance towards vaping and...

Major Korean c-store chains take flavoured e-cigs off the shelves

Written by ECigIntelligence | 7th November 2019

Four major convenience store chains in South Korea are to suspend sales of some flavoured e-cigarettes after the government announced it is carrying out an assessment of possible health effects ...

South Korea tightens e-cig rules in wake of first death linked to vaping

Written by ECigIntelligence | 24th October 2019

South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced a set of measures to restrict imports, sales and use of e-cigarettes and recommended users to stop vaping to avoid “lung damage and death” ...

South Korea cracks down on public smoking, vaping and HnB use

Written by ECigIntelligence | 25th September 2019

Local authorities across South Korea are carrying out patrols to enforce regulations against smoking, vaping and use of heat-not-burn (HnB) products in a wide range of public places ...

BAT launches hybrid pod in Korea amid rumours of new tax scheme

Written by ECigIntelligence | 14th August 2019

British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched Glo Sens in Korea, a new hybrid pod product which combines vaping technology with real...

New database offers in-depth research on the leading heated tobacco markets

Written by ECigIntelligence | 8th July 2019

ECigIntelligence’s new database on the global heated tobacco market is full of in-depth research about this lucrative market, which is gaining ground all over the world ...

South Korea responds to Juul and Lil launches with pledge to get tough

Written by ECigIntelligence | 24th June 2019

The South Korean government is running a campaign to discourage use of tobacco products, in response to recent launches of Juul and a similar device from KT&G ...

China Tobacco launches new HnB system on South Korean market

Written by ECigIntelligence | 14th November 2018

China Tobacco is taking on Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT) and KT&G in South Korea with the launch of a new heated tobacco device, the Mok ...

PMI sues Korean government over claim HnB is as harmful as smoking

Written by ECigIntelligence | 15th October 2018

The South Korean government has declared e-cigarettes and heated tobacco to be no safer than smoking – a statement that has led to legal action by Philip Morris International (PMI) ...

Manufacturers rooting around for way to stem South Korean nicotine tax

Written by ECigIntelligence | 11th October 2018

E-liquid manufacturers are trying to get around South Korean tax laws by claiming the nicotine they use is derived from the stems and roots of tobacco plants rather than exclusively the leaves ...

Chinese HnB exhibitors make a mark at Korea’s first Vape Expo

Written by ECigIntelligence | 18th September 2018

The different cultural and regulatory regimes surrounding vaping and heated tobacco in South Korea were on display at the country’s first vaping show, Vape Korea Expo 2018, held at the Kintex exhibition hall in Ilsan...

Advantage BAT in the race to open up US for heated tobacco

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 30th July 2018

British American Tobacco (BAT) has a chance to steal a march on its Big Tobacco rivals in the heated-tobacco market after the company became the first to receive approval to sell a heat-not-burn device in...

South Korea takes new graphic approach to e-cig and HnB warnings

Written by ECigIntelligence | 11th June 2018

The South Korean government is stepping up its efforts to discourage use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products with new graphic health warning images that will appear on packages later this year ...

IQOS flourishes across Southeast Asia – without PMI’s approval

Written by ECigIntelligence | 6th February 2018

The IQOS heated tobacco system is on sale across Southeast Asia, despite doubts over its legality in a number of countries, and the official disapproval of its maker, Philip Morris International ...

KT&G launches HnB Lil in South Korea, challenging IQOS and Glo on price

Written by Freddie Dawson | 8th November 2017

The biggest tobacco company in South Korea, KT&G, has launched its own heat-not-burn (HnB) device into the rapidly expanding tobacco alternatives market in the country, where it will compete with PMI’s IQOS and BAT’s Glo...

Boom in IQOS figures reveals HnB’s growing share of world tobacco market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 26th October 2017

Heated tobacco continues to take up a greater and greater share of the total world tobacco market, according to new figures from Philip Morris International (PMI) outlining the success of its IQOS device ...

South Korea proposes HnB tax almost equal to tobacco

Written by Freddie Dawson | 23rd October 2017

A new tax proposal for heat-not-burn (HnB) products in South Korea could leave them more expensive than their traditional cigarette counterparts....

BAT launches Glo and Dunhill Neostiks on the South Korean HnB market

Written by Freddie Dawson | 17th August 2017

British American Tobacco (BAT) has launched its Glo device in South Korea, joining Philip Morris International (PMI)'s iQOS in what could be a lively market for heated tobacco products ...

Korean tobacco giant prepares to enter competitive HnB market

Written by David Palacios Rubio | 5th July 2017

South Korea’s largest tobacco manufacturer, KT&G, is to start selling a new heat-not-burn (HnB) product, in direct competition with PMI’s iQOS and BAT’s Glo...

How safe is that battery? The industry’s secrets unwrapped

Written by ECigIntelligence | 27th June 2017

Battery safety continues to be an issue for the e-cigarette industry – particularly from an image perspective – but ensuring the best possible component for an e-cig is not as straightforward as it might first...

Asia Pacific warms to heat-not-burn, but it’s not an easy road

Written by Freddie Dawson | 20th February 2017

Japan Tobacco and Philip Morris International are attempting to widen their distribution of heat-not-burn (HnB) products throughout Pacific Asia, but there have been problems along the way....

E-cig experimentation widespread among Russian students

Written by ECigIntelligence | 26th October 2016

Nearly a third of Russian high-school students have tried vaping, according to new...

E-cig taxation measures expected to proliferate

Written by Freddie Dawson | 16th January 2015

Governments around the world are waking up to the potential of taxing e-cigarettes, according to a new report from...

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