Calls rise to ease regulations on e-cigarettes

By Kim Hyun-bin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a unit of British American Tobacco (BAT) to keep selling its Vuse Solo e-cigarettes in the United States, marking the first e-cigarette brand to be approved for sale in the U.S despite pressure from politicians and public health groups to strictly regulate the products.

The latest decision has heightened expectations of policy changes to ease the worldwide sale of e-cigarettes, which numerous studies have proven are less harmful than conventional tobacco products.

Currently, heat-not-burn cigarettes account for around 13 percent of the Korean tobacco market.

E-cigarettes were introduced a decade ago, but started to increase in market share in 2017 as top tobacco companies introduced new lineups, including Philip Morris Korea's IQOS, KT&G's Lil and BAT Korea's Glow in Korea.

The release of e-cigarettes have boosted their popularity and the products are taking up market shares held by conventional cigarettes. The market share of e-cigarettes soared to the double-digits in the first year they were introduced and has continued to rise.

Demand for e-cigarettes has increased due to regulations on conventional tobacco being implemented in advanced countries.

New Zealand, well known for its anti-smoking policies, recently passed a package of proposals aimed at eliminating cigarette use by 2025, first, by targeting those born after 2004, moving closer to its goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025. However, New Zealand has limited regulations on e-cigarettes.

Instead, the proposal included a message that switching to e-cigarettes could reduce the harm done to smokers' health.

A recent study by the New Zealand Taxpayers Union showed that four countries that are e-cigarette friendly -― New Zealand, England, France and Canada ― have double the global average number of people who have quit smoking.

There has also been a rise in calls around the world to change anti-smoking policies. Clive Bates, the former director of the anti-smoking campaign group, ASH, also praised the 100 independent experts' letter to the heads of delegations to the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to support and promote the reduced harm caused by e-cigarettes compared to conventional tobacco.

“WHO has been dismissive of the potential to transform the tobacco market from high-risk to low-risk products. WHO is rejecting a public health strategy that could avoid millions of smoking related deaths,” they wrote.

The U.K., U.S. and Japan have been making changes to their tobacco regulations and policies. Instead of the traditional method of raising cigarette prices, those countries have been making separate regulations for e-cigarettes that have seen some positive results in curbing smoking rates.