The Government Policies of New Tobacco Products: Strategies for Managing Electronic Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products

Park, Myung Bae

Abstract

The term new tobacco products (NTPs) refers to the new alternatives to conventional cigarettes. There are several kinds of NTPs in South Korea. The present study discusses the most widely used NTPs namely electronic cigarette (ECs) and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The aims of this study are to evaluate the risk related to the use of ECs and HTPs, introduce policy examples across different countries of management of this issue, and finally, present some policy implications of the problem and our response strategies. Since the advent of ECs, there has been a lot of debate about its risk. Some studies have reported that ECs are less harmful than conventional cigarettes and that they are effective in aiding smoking cessation. Nevertheless, the efficacy of ECs in smoking cessation and its potential health risks are still unclear. However, the obvious fact is that it is not harmless. Regulations on ECs differ from country to country. In many countries, they are strictly regulated as tobacco or toxic substances; however, in the United Kingdom, the use of ECs are included as part of their smoking cessation policy, and in Japan, they are treated as a form of medication. On the other hand, HTPs are the most recently introduced NTPs and they have attained sensational popularity because of the wrongly held belief that they are less harmful to health. So, what about our policy response to these two tobacco products? The research on ECs requires more systematic statistical monitoring, such as monitoring the ratio of dual-users. Further, the new EC smokers should be identified taking into account that the arguments for the use of ECs often emphasize smoking cessation or less risks to health, the government should further strengthen its policy to prevent those claims. The HTPs market experienced a very sharp growth and continues to grow because the government policy is too passive. Taking this as a lesson, it is necessary to approach NTPs, such as HTPs, proactively and increase their contribution to the National Health Promotion Fund by imposing greater taxes on them. Finally, considering the likelihood of NTPs being promoted as a less harmful tobacco product, it is essential to strictly regulate tobacco companies' publicity from the very beginning to ensure that potential consumer s are not mislead.