Government to Expand Tobacco Harmful Component Testing and Review Regulations on Menthol and Fruit Flavors

▲ E-cigarettes (File Photo)

The government plans to expand the scope of harmful component testing for tobacco products to include smokeless tobacco and waterpipes, while establishing a basis for regulating attractive additives such as menthol and fruit flavors.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held the Tobacco Harmful Management Policy Committee at the Korea Press Center and finalized and announced the 1st Basic Plan for Tobacco Harmful Management (2027–2031).

The basic plan is a five-year mid-to-long-term plan established for the first time under the Act on the Management of Harmful Tobacco Components, which took effect in November of last year.

First, the government will phase in the expansion of harmful components subject to testing, including products currently exempt from testing such as smokeless tobacco, cigars, and waterpipes.

The number of harmful components tested for cigarettes and heated tobacco products will be increased from 44 types as of last year to around 50 types by 2030, while testing for liquid e-cigarettes will expand from 20 types to around 30 types.

Regarding additives like menthol and fruit flavors used to attract consumers, the government decided to secure and analyze additive information to establish management grounds.

It also plans to review improvement measures to phase in bans on the use of specific components thereafter.

In addition, specialized research will be conducted to evaluate product characteristics and policy effectiveness, such as analyzing the toxicity of harmful components and emissions and developing new component analysis methods, to build a foundation for strengthening tobacco harmfulness management.

Lee Hyung-hoon, Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "We will promptly establish the tobacco harmful component management system and pursue robust regulatory policies."

Through the implementation of this basic plan, the government has set a goal to reduce current adult tobacco product use rates among men from 36.3% to 29.0% by 2030, and among women from 8.6% to 6.0%.

However, this first basic plan does not include regulatory plans based on harmfulness test results or contents regarding nicotine-free or nicotine-substitute products.

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