E-cigarettes imported before April 24 exempt from fines, creating enforcement chaos

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is set to begin enforcing no-smoking zone rules for liquid e-cigarettes Wednesday, ending a two-month grace period — but an exemption for products imported or shipped before the Tobacco Business Act took effect is expected to sow confusion on the ground. Even if someone is caught vaping in a no-smoking zone, they cannot be fined if they can show the nicotine liquid was shipped or imported before the law's effective date. Seoul asked the ministry to close the loophole but was told the law cannot be applied retroactively.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare sent a Q&A circular to Seoul and other local governments on June 16 ahead of a nationwide intensive inspection period for liquid e-cigarettes. The circular addressed the application of the National Health Promotion Act following the expansion of the tobacco definition.

Asked whether fines could be imposed on people using liquid e-cigarettes in no-smoking zones, the ministry said a fine of up to 100,000 won ($65) could be levied. However, it added that because inspectors cannot immediately analyze the chemical composition of a liquid on site, enforcement proceedings would begin upon confirming the smoking act, but individuals would be given the opportunity to contest the charge afterward by demonstrating that the product does not meet the tobacco definition under the Tobacco Business Act. The ministry specified two categories of products that fall outside that definition: inhalation products that do not use tobacco leaf or nicotine as a raw material, and nicotine-based inhalation products shipped or cleared for import before April 24, 2026.

The second category is the problem. Two people caught vaping the same liquid e-cigarette in the same place could face different outcomes depending solely on when the product was shipped or imported. "Confusion is expected at enforcement sites," a Seoul city official said, adding that if the cartridge casing was manufactured before April 24 and only the nicotine liquid is swapped out, enforcement could become very difficult. Seoul submitted a formal request to the ministry for a regulatory fix, but the ministry has no clear solution. "We cannot apply the amended Tobacco Business Act retroactively," a ministry official said. "We would like to crack down on liquid e-cigarettes imported or shipped before April 24 as well, but doing so could undermine the foundations of the legal system." The Tobacco Business Act, which took effect April 24, expanded the definition of tobacco from "tobacco leaves" to "tobacco or nicotine" — including both natural and synthetic forms — bringing synthetic-nicotine liquid e-cigarettes, previously outside the regulatory scope, under the law for the first time.

A similar episode unfolded over the timing of enforcement itself. The ministry had originally planned to begin no-smoking zone inspections through local governments on April 24, the day the Tobacco Business Act took effect. But at 7 p.m. on April 23 — the day before — it sent a circular announcing a two-month enforcement delay, citing the need to prevent confusion in the field while existing inventory not subject to the Tobacco Business Act remained unsold. The root cause was a supplementary provision in the amended law stipulating that while liquid e-cigarettes are recognized as tobacco, the rules apply only to products shipped or cleared for import after the effective date of April 24.