Users of non-combusted cigarettes in South Korea tend to use combustible cigarettes also, according to a Yonhap News Agency story citing the results of a recent survey.
This reportedly meant that the users of non-combusted cigarettes were enjoying only limited health benefits.
According to the survey conducted by the Anti-smoking Support Center of the Korea Health Promotion Institute, all users of Philip Morris International’s IQOS, a non-combusted device, ‘tended to use ordinary cigarettes too’.
The survey was conducted among 228 South Koreans aged from 19 to 24 in September last year, three months after IQOS was launched in the country. The results were published in the British Medical Journal.
The Center said the survey was significant despite the low number of participants, because it was part of the process of gathering data on the initial stage of the non-combusted cigarette market.
The survey found that 38.1 percent of the respondents were aware of IQOS and that 3.5 percent currently used the product.
According to a survey conducted by the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco earlier this year, 98 percent of non-combusted-cigarette users also consumed combustible cigarettes.
Tag: South Korea
Health benefits limited
Harm reduction glows anew
British American Tobacco Korea on Monday launched in South Korea its second-generation tobacco-heating device, glo, according to a story on pulsenews.co.kr.
At the launch, BAT Korea said consumers would be able to buy the new edition of glo from July 30 at the brand’s flagship store, nationwide from convenience stores and via the official web site.
The second-generation glo device, which is being launched about a year after the previous model was launched, will be priced at 90,000 won.
BAT Korea said that the upgraded version of glo came with enhanced function and design. The all-in-one device was simple to operate, the company said, because users did not need a separate charging device.
The device could be used up to 30 times on a full charge, it added.
BAT Korea has unveiled also neo, a new heated-tobacco consumable unit for the new device, which will replace Neostiks, the existing heated tobacco unit.
Pulse quoted an unnamed official of BAT Korea as saying the company would continue to provide more diverse and satisfying options to Korean smokers seeking potentially reduced-risk, alternative products.
Despite the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s health warning about vapor products, demand for smokeless tobacco devices has been growing.Sales down, revenue up
Sales of cigarettes in South Korea during the first six months of this year were down by 1.6 percent on those of the first half of last year, according to a Yonhap News Agency story citing data compiled by the finance ministry.
South Korean smokers bought 1.68 billion 20-piece cigarette packs from January to June, down from 1.71 billion packs during the same months of 2017.
But not everything was down. The Government collected 5.5 trillion won in taxes from cigarette sales during January-June, up 1.5 percent from the taxes collected during the same months of 2017, 5.4 trillion won.
It is not hard to see why these figures are as they are. In January 2015, the price of cigarettes in South Korea was increased by 80 percent, from 2,500 won (US$2.25) to 4,500 won per pack, almost entirely through a tax increase.
In 2016, the Government mandated that tobacco companies put graphic warnings on the upper part of both sides of cigarette packs.Streetwise smokers
A recent study has revealed that almost half of South Korea’s ‘young smokers’ buy cigarettes at stores directly, according to a story in The Korea Bizwire.
The Korea Health Promotion Institute reportedly said that an online survey that questioned ‘adolescents’ on how they bought cigarettes found that 48 percent had bought them at convenience stores or other shops.
Meanwhile, 34.6 percent said they ‘gained access to cigarettes through friends’, 9.7 percent said they took cigarettes ‘available’ in their own homes or their friends’ homes, 4.0 percent said they obtained cigarettes from adults, and 3.7 percent said they picked up cigarettes from the street.
The Institute said the study indicated that cigarettes were being sold to ‘minors’ despite such sales being illegal.
And it added that stronger regulations were needed to protect ‘adolescents’ from smoking, though there was no mention of what sorts of regulations would work better.
The study looked too at cigarette advertising and found that 78.5 percent of respondents said they had seen cigarette advertisements in magazines, online, in convenience stores and at supermarkets within the previous 30 days.
A survey carried out by the Institute last year found that all 1,235 convenience stores near schools had cigarette advertisements. On average, there were 25 cigarette advertisements at every convenience store.HNB warnings coming
South Korea’s Government has decided to require the inclusion of graphic health warnings on heat-not-burn (HNB) product packaging, according to a story in The Korea Times.
The Health and Welfare Ministry published their proposed graphic warnings for HNB product packs from May 14 to June 4 to gauge public opinion.
In response, cigarette manufacturers, distributors and smoking groups submitted eight dissenting opinions against the government’s decision. They asked the government to use ‘less provocative graphics’ and to take out numbers linked to mortality risk and disease.
However, health operatives and civic groups submitted 143 opinions of agreement supporting the government, with some asking that the warnings be enlarged.
The Ministry says it has now selected graphic warning labels and messages that will have to be printed on the packs.
It said the warnings would include an image of a cancer cell accompanied by a message saying ‘heat-not-burn e-cigarettes addict you to nicotine and expose you to carcinogens’.
“According to the latest study by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, various cancer-causing agents like benzopyrene and benzene were detected in HNB cigarettes,” a Ministry official said.
“The Ministry has concluded that the HNB cigarette companies’ argument that their products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes lacks evidence.”I Love Smoking
The recent initiative by Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) to remove smoking rooms from airports has smokers fuming, according to a story in The Korea Herald.
‘Smokers are being unfairly inched out, protested I Love Smoking, a South-Korean smokers’ community.
On June 25, KAC said that indoor smoking lounges at 14 airports in South Korea would be closed gradually, and that outdoor smoking areas would be moved further from areas with ‘a lot of passenger traffic’.
In a statement, I Love Smoking asked KAC not to implement its plan.
The community said that a unilateral decision to close smoking spaces at airports was not the way to solve the issue of the smoker/non-smoker divide.
And it pointed out that the move would undermine smokers’ basic right to happiness.
‘Why not try using some of our tax money to build better separated smoking spaces?’ the community asked.
The Herald said that South Korean laws put non-smokers’ rights above smokers’ rights; so it is not surprising that smoking rooms and spaces are becoming increasingly rare in Korea.HNBs offer positive change
Philip Morris International said yesterday that a clinical study had proved that switching to its heat-not-burn (HNB) device could reduce the health risks posed by smoking combustible cigarettes, according to a story in The Korea Herald.
PMI’s study results come two weeks after the South Korean health authorities released the result of their study, which found that HNB devices to be equally harmful as combustible cigarettes, if not more harmful.
According to PMI, its latest clinical test was conducted on 984 smokers of combustible cigarettes over the age of 30 in the US.
As part of the test, it asked 488 people to switch to IQOS for six months.
The clinical risk assessment related to diseases associated with heart, lung and organ systems changed positively in the case of those who switched to IQOS, compared to those who continued smoking conventional cigarettes.
“The latest research was conducted to demonstrate clinical, biological and functional health changes in smokers switching to the HNB product,” said Manuel Peitsch, chief scientific officer at PMI. “The result has proven that the HNB product can reduce the risk of smoking-related diseases.”False warnings planned
A majority of South Koreans support higher taxes on heat-not-burn (HNB) products, according to a story in The Korea Herald citing the results of a poll published on June 17.
The poll, which was said to have been carried out among about 1,000 adults by market research institute Trend Monitor, found that 55.6 percent of respondents agreed with the government’s move to raise taxes on HNB cigarettes.
In December, the National Assembly passed a bill to increase taxes on HNB products from 528 won (US$0.50) to 897 won per pack.
Tobacco manufacturers and the government have been tussling over the latter’s move to impose stricter regulations on HNB products, including the latest decision to require HNB products to carry the same graphic warning images as combustible tobacco products carry, starting December 2018.
The Herald said that, despite HNB cigarettes being marketed as a less harmful replacement for conventional cigarettes, most of the respondents to the poll said they regarded HNB cigarettes as unhealthy.
About 80 percent said HNB cigarettes were as harmful as conventional cigarettes.
Nearly 13 percent said HNB cigarettes were helpful in quitting smoking, and, among current HNB product users, that figure rose to 34.8 percent.
With regard to the government’s recent analysis of the safety of HNB cigarettes, 81.9 percent said there should be a more objective safety test on HNB products.
Almost 74 percent of HNB users said they chose these products because they did not smell in the same way as traditional cigarettes smelt, while 3.1 percent cited the products’ ability to help them cut down on smoking and 31.7 percent cited them as a useful aid in quitting smoking.'Clarification' sought
A statement made last week by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) could mislead millions of people into thinking that the use of heated tobacco products is as harmful as smoking cigarettes, according to Philip Morris International.
‘There is compelling scientific evidence, including KFDA’s own findings, that heated tobacco products generate an aerosol that is completely different from cigarette smoke, and that they are a better choice than cigarettes, a PMI press note said.
‘And yet, with their June 7 statement, the agency could be risking the health of millions of Koreans who use tobacco products. These are the very people they are charged with protecting.
‘Those who are still smoking may be discouraged from switching, and those who have switched may turn back to cigarette smoking.’
PMI said that everybody agreed that smoking was harmful. Now, it said, there was a much better alternative, made possible by technology and science, for the millions of Koreans who would put themselves at the greatest risk of serious health consequences if they continued to smoke cigarettes.
‘Rather than focusing on the significant reductions in harmful chemicals compared to cigarette smoke that the agency’s own science shows, KFDA points to “tar” measurements to judge the relative risk of tobacco products,’ the note said.
‘However, the World Health Organization (WHO) – an objective and respected group with the public good as its goal – has been crystal clear on this matter: “Tar need not be measured, as it is not a sound basis for regulation, and the levels can be misleading”. Exactly. The concept of “Tar” applies to cigarette smoke, which is not the same as the aerosol from heated tobacco products – a fact that has been confirmed by numerous studies.
‘Scientific evidence shows that switching to heated tobacco products, while not risk-free, is a much better choice than continuing to smoke. ‘Koreans who use tobacco products, and those around them, deserve truthful information based on 21st-century science – not political agendas. Measuring “tar” is yesterday’s approach misapplied to today’s innovative products.
‘For the benefit of the people of Korea, we believe KFDA should consider issuing a clarification.’HNB not less risky
South Korea’s health authorities said yesterday that five cancer-causing substances ‘were found in heat-not-burn electronic cigarettes’ sold on the local market, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.
Presumably the tests were carried out on the vapor produced by these devices.
The five ‘group 1 carcinogens’ – benzopyrene, nitrosopyrrolidine, benzene, formaldehyde and nitrosamine ketone – were said to have been detected in all the products.
However, the level of these carcinogens was between 0.3 percent and 28.0 percent of that discovered in tests on conventional combustible products.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety carried out their investigation into three tobacco heating devices – Philip Morris Korea’s IQOS, British American Tobacco’s Glo, and KT&G’s lil.
“There is no reason to think that e-cigarettes [sic] are less harmful than conventional cigarettes after comprehensively considering various research, such as those carried out by WHO,” a ministry official said.
Two of the three products were said to have ‘contained’ more tar than conventional cigarettes did, though which two was not stated.
However, a graphic included with a story on koreabiomed.com indicated that the two were IQOS and Lil.
“The amount of nicotine contained in e-cigarettes was about the same level compared to conventional tobaccos, indicating that e-cigarettes are not helpful to those wanting to quit smoking,” the official said.
