The South Korean tobacco control expert pointed out that tobacco companies attract young people and women through deceptive marketing strategies such as “environmentally friendly” and “less harmful”, he called for strengthening legal obligations, transparent disclosure of tobacco ingredients and manufacturing processes, banning marketing aimed at teenagers and women, and making tobacco companies bear the social costs of smoking.
Key points:
1. Tobacco companies use information such as “environmental protection” to mislead consumers, especially to sell “flavored tobacco” to young people under the age of 30 and women.
2. Although there are cases abroad supporting the liability of tobacco companies, Korean courts still insist that “smoking is a personal choice”.
3. Experts require tobacco companies to transparently disclose product ingredients and manufacturing processes, ban marketing aimed at teenagers and women, and bear the social costs of smoking.
According to a March 11 report by V.DAM, Lee Sung-kyu, director of the Korea Tobacco Regulation Research and Education Center, pointed out in an interview that tobacco companies are increasingly clever in their marketing strategies, marketing through messages such as “environmental protection” and “less harmful”. “Tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing tactics must be dealt with strongly,” Lee said. “We need to strengthen the legal obligation to disclose the ingredients and manufacturing process of tobacco products transparently.”
Li Chengkui said that tobacco companies have long used the words “light” and “mild” to promote the image of tobacco as less harmful, but in fact, such tobacco products have little difference in nicotine and tar content compared with ordinary cigarettes. Young people and women under the age of 30 are becoming the main target group for tobacco companies, and they are producing and selling “flavored tobacco” to this group.
The legal battle between the public and tobacco companies in South Korea dates back to 1999, and while a lawsuit brought by the Health Insurance Review and Evaluation Board in 2020 failed to win support in the first instance, Lee said there had been a number of judgments abroad recognizing the liability of tobacco companies. However, South Korean courts have stuck to the argument that smoking is a personal choice.
He stressed that to strengthen the social responsibility of tobacco companies, the legal obligation to transparently disclose the composition and manufacturing process of tobacco products must first be strengthened.
- “Second, we must completely ban marketing to teenagers and women; Third, we must clearly define their social responsibilities, such as making tobacco companies bear the social costs of smoking.”
