Starting on the 24th, liquid e-cigarettes made with synthetic nicotine will be officially recognized as “tobacco,” bringing them under full taxation and distribution and health regulations. The government said it aims to close a legal loophole by bringing the products into the regulatory system to improve tax fairness and strengthen public health protections.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance said on the 23rd that, under the revised Tobacco Business Act, the legal definition of tobacco will expand from products made from “tobacco leaves” to products made using “tobacco or nicotine (including natural and synthetic)” as a raw material. As a result, liquid e-cigarettes using synthetic nicotine will be subject to the Tobacco Business Act and related tax laws.
Manufacturers and importers will be required to pay tobacco-related taxes and charges — including individual consumption tax, tobacco consumption tax, local education tax and the National Health Promotion Charge — when products leave a factory or when imports are declared. To limit market disruption at the start of the system, those taxes will be cut by 50% for two years on a temporary basis.
Manufacturers and importers must obtain approval from the finance minister and register with provincial and metropolitan governments. Packaging must carry mandatory warnings and images and list ingredients such as nicotine content. Products must undergo a harmfulness test every two years, and labeling of flavoring substances will be restricted.
Retail sales will require designation as a tobacco retailer by local governments. Online sales and sales to minors will be banned. Reselling products after opening them to add other substances or alter the contents will also be prohibited.
User restrictions will match those for conventional cigarettes. Synthetic-nicotine e-cigarettes will be banned in no-smoking areas, as other tobacco products are.
To reduce confusion early in the rollout, the government will introduce a product identification system. For products made or imported after the effective date, packaging will be required to print identification wording on the front and at the opening area indicating whether tax obligations have been met, so consumers can more easily confirm legal distribution.
Inventory produced before the law takes effect will be managed separately. The government said it will set standards that include requiring harmfulness testing, recommending limits on sales of products kept in circulation for long periods, and notifying consumers. It also said it will conduct harmfulness assessments of “nicotine-like” products with chemical structures similar to nicotine and review future management measures.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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