The Korea Consumers Association called on smokers to stop falsely advertising smokeless tar vapes and asked the Korean Food and Drug Administration to strengthen supervision because smokeless tar vapes sold on the market were found to contain unlabeled “hydroxyl tar” ingredients.
Nicotine-free vapes accused of false advertising
According to Dtoday on December 3, the Korean Citizen Consumer Sovereignty Association once again called on cigarette distributors to immediately stop false and exaggerated advertising of smokeless tar vapes and urged the Korean Ministry of Food and Drugs to take corresponding regulatory measures as soon as possible.
According to a survey conducted by KBS News on June 21, “hydroxy tar,” a substance similar to the function of smoke tar, was detected in smokeless tar vapes sold in the market. In the case of regulatory gaps in smokeless tar and smoke-tar-like products, sellers advertise “generated or smoke-tar-like products” as “smokeless tar vapes” for circulation and sale.
Korea Consumers’ Association asks Ministry of Food and Drugs to step up regulation
Smokeless tar vapes, which are advertised as smokeless tar, are often used by smokers to quit smoking and have also become guidance products for teenagers to smoke. Given the significant impact these goods are expected to have, the association urges the Ministry of Food and Drugs to immediately stop false and exaggerated advertising by sellers of smokeless tar vapes.
Currently, South Korea’s tax rate on vapes is the highest in the world, and the excessive tax policy has forced cigarette distributors to look for duty-free alternatives. These companies began to separate liquid vapes into source liquid and diluent liquid, namely smokeless tar liquid and diluted tar products.
In 2016, due to the experience of the “humidifier fungicide incident”, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety began to incorporate smokeless tar products into safety management. In 2023, when some manufacturers asked again about the regulatory policy of smokeless tar products, the answer was a comprehensive consideration of composition, content, and function.
Subsequently, the sales of smokeless tar vapes in the market increased significantly. In the KBS investigation report, six products from three companies that were commissioned to test were found to contain unspecified “hydroxyl tar.” The Ministry of Health and Welfare noted that the generation of smoke tar has not been included in the scope of control and discussion of similar smoke tar is still premature, but said that the Ministry of Food and Drug can conduct a hazard assessment of it if necessary.
