"Only 8 Out of 7,000 Tobacco Chemicals Are Listed... Ingredient Information Must Be Disclosed"

The Korean Society for Tobacco Control Spring Conference

On the morning of the 22nd, the Korean Society for Tobacco Control held its Spring Academic Conference at the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall to discuss the current status and management system regarding the submission and disclosure of tobacco ingredient information.

According to a press release from the society, "The World Health Organization (WHO) states that cigarette smoke contains about 70 carcinogens and over 7,000 chemicals, but currently, only information on 8 ingredients is disclosed to consumers for cigarette products sold on the market."

In South Korea, tobacco information currently only includes the names of nicotine and tar content, as well as six carcinogens (naphthylamine, nickel, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, cadmium). Such information is not even indicated for liquid-type electronic cigarettes.

The society stated, "South Korea signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005, thereby obligating itself to implement this international treaty. The convention recommends that governments receive tobacco ingredient information from manufacturers, verify it, and disclose the results to the public."

Accordingly, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and others have implemented systems to disclose tobacco ingredient information to the public. However, the society explained that in South Korea, legislation for managing tobacco harmfulness is currently pending in the National Assembly. Even this legislation only contains general provisions such as establishing a five-year plan, and specific methodologies or systems still need to be developed in the future.

Baek Yoo-jin, President of the Korean Society for Tobacco Control and Professor of Family Medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, said, "About 250 experts involved in domestic tobacco regulation policies and smoking cessation support projects gathered in one place to organize positions and opinions on the submission and disclosure of tobacco ingredient information. We expect this to help protect the public's right to know about tobacco products and contribute to establishing effective tobacco regulation policies."

Poster of the Korean Society for Tobacco Control Spring Conference. [Photo by Korean Society for Tobacco Control]

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