Korean Philip Morris, Manufacturer of 'IQOS', Wins Information Disclosure Lawsuit Against MFDS

Court Orders Disclosure of Detailed Analysis on Harmfulness of Heated Tobacco Products

On the morning of June 7, 2018, a demonstration of harmful substance analysis of heated tobacco products was conducted at the Tobacco Smoke Collection Room of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The court has ruled that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s refusal to disclose detailed information related to harmfulness analysis, requested by an electronic cigarette manufacturer, is wrong. This follows the Ministry’s announcement that “heated tobacco products contain more tar than conventional cigarettes.”

According to the legal community on the 20th, the Seoul Administrative Court’s Administrative Division 6 (Chief Judge Lee Seong-yong) partially ruled in favor of Korean Philip Morris, the manufacturer of the electronic cigarette IQOS, in a lawsuit against the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety seeking cancellation of the refusal to disclose information.

The court stated, “The operational regulations cited by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as grounds for refusing disclosure are not legally delegated statutory orders but mere internal guidelines, and therefore cannot be grounds for refusal.”

Furthermore, the court said, “The plaintiff has sufficient interest to dispute the credibility of the announcement that could be perceived by consumers as ‘heated tobacco products are more harmful than conventional cigarettes,’” and rejected the Ministry’s claim that Korean Philip Morris’s request for information disclosure was an abuse of the right to sue aimed at promoting its products and harassing the Ministry.

In June 2018, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced harmfulness analysis results stating that “the nicotine content of heated tobacco products is similar to that of conventional cigarettes, and tar was detected in greater amounts than in conventional cigarettes.”

In response to this announcement, Philip Morris strongly protested, saying, “The content of nine harmful substances designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) was found to be on average 90% lower than in conventional cigarettes, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ignored these analysis results and focused only on comparing tar levels.”

Subsequently, Philip Morris requested the Ministry to disclose detailed information such as analysis methods and experimental data, but after being refused, filed a lawsuit in court.

Heated tobacco products differ from conventional cigarettes, which burn tobacco leaves directly. Instead, they use a dedicated tobacco stick (a solid tobacco product made from tobacco leaves) inserted into a rechargeable electronic device that heats it to a high temperature of 250?350 degrees Celsius, allowing the user to inhale the emitted aerosol.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.