Manufacturers rooting around for way to stem South Korean nicotine tax

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 from the leaves.

Currently South Korean law specifies that if nicotine in an e-liquid product being imported into the country came from the leaf of a tobacco plant, then it would be subject to a steep import tax, something which has has not gone down well with the industry.

Producers are now turning to nicotine derived from the stem and root of the tobacco plant, called stem nicotine, rather than nicotine derived from tobacco leaves to find a way around the taxation issue.