Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Vaping 'far less harmful than smoking'
The filter used for smoking, right, is visually darker than the one used for vaping, as shown at a media conference in Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
E-cigarettes are “far less harmful” than conventional ones because they produce fewer toxins than in tobacco smoke, Philip Morris Korea argued Monday.
Studies over the past few years by the U.S.-based cigarette giant show that vaping is about 90 percent less harmful than smoking because it does not involving inhaling burned tobacco, which is greatly damaging to human health.
“E-cigarettes are not harmless, but our research clearly show that they are less harmful than conventional cigarettes,” Kim Byung-chul, a corporate affairs director at Philip Morris Korea, said at a media conference in Seoul.
“The best for smokers is to stop using tobacco products altogether. But for those who cannot do so immediately, we believe using IQOS is a better choice than smoking.”
IQOS is Philip Morris's flagship e-cigarette product, which allows users to vape by heating a liquid that contains nicotine instead of burning tobacco.
Philip Morris's claims are aligned with the position of
, which maintains vaping is 95 percent less harmful than tobacco.
Many countries still ban e-cigarettes and using them can result in fines or imprisonment.
But this is changing gradually. Over the past two years, about 1.1 million smokers in Korea have switched to e-cigarettes, according to Philip Morris.