The Gyeonggi Provincial Council in South Korea held a seminar emphasizing the need to strengthen vape regulations, revise laws to protect student health, and call for the elimination of regulatory loopholes.
Key points:
- The Second Local Community Smoke-Free Policy Seminar was held in South Korea.
- The seminar emphasized the importance of strengthening vape regulations.
- The policy banning sales near schools was a focus of attention.
Gyeonggi Province lawmakers call for stricter regulation of vapes
According to a report by m.go.seoul.co.kr on August 25, Seong Ki-hwang, a member of the Education Planning Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, attended the “Second Local Community Smoke-Free Policy Symposium” on the 22nd at the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly meeting room and took a group photo with the event participants. Seong Ki-hwang emphasized at the meeting that strengthening the regulation of vapes is particularly important for protecting student health.
Seong Ki-hwang first introduced the background of the revision to the “Gyeonggi-do Education Office Ordinance on Prevention Education for the Misuse and Abuse of Harmful Substances Among Youth.” He pointed out that due to the unrestricted availability of vape specialty stores across Gyeonggi-do for middle and high school students, protecting the health of the 1.4 million middle and high school students in Gyeonggi-do and strengthening the responsibilities of the Gyeonggi-do Education Office became the driving force behind revising the ordinance.
Protecting the health of 1.4 million primary and secondary school students
Additionally, Assembly Member Seong Ki-hwang welcomed the provision in the “Education Environment Act” passed by the National Assembly prohibiting the sale of vapes near schools. However, he also pointed out that due to the vague definition of vapes in the “Tobacco Business Act,” current regulations have regulatory loopholes. He called for more fundamental measures to revise the “Tobacco Business Act,” such as strengthening oversight of online sales, mandating ingredient labeling, and intensifying advertising regulations.
Rep. Seong Ki-hwang concluded by stating that vape regulation is an issue that requires collective societal effort, and the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly will actively reflect the need for policy improvements and take a leading role in safeguarding the health rights of future generations.
It is reported that this seminar was jointly organized by the South Korea Smoking Cessation Support Center and the North Korea Smoking Cessation Support Center, discussing various smoke-free policy issues such as the installation of smoking areas, the effectiveness of increasing tobacco taxes, and the necessity of revising the definition of tobacco.
