South Korea: Imports of E-cigs Jump After Tobacco Price Hikes

Source from:  The Korea Times  05/16/2016

South Korea's imports of electronic cigarettes and related liquids have been sharply rising since tobacco price hikes early last year, data showed Wednesday.

Smokers here are rapidly turning to e-cigarettes, hand-held devices that vaporize flavored fluids, as an alternative.

The e-cigarette usage rate among South Korean men, aged 19 or older, soared to 7.1 percent in 2015 from 2 percent in 2013 and 4.4 percent in 2014, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Among females adults, the figure rose to 1.2 percent in 2015 from 0.3 percent in 2013 and 0.4 percent in 2014.

The ministry measured the number of people who used e-cigarettes for the past one month.

In January last year, the government raised tobacco prices from 2,500 won ($2.14) per pack to 4,500 won in a bid to cut smoking rates.

Imports of e-cigarettes have been on the rise as well, the Korea Customs Service said.

The inbound shipments of those products totaled $13.5 million in 2015, an increase from $2.3 million in 2013 and $10.1 million in 2014. By amount, it shot up to 196 tons last year from 31 tons in 2013 and 138 tons in 2014.

The imports of flavored liquids also jumped to 86 tons worth $5.37 million in 2015 from 17 tons in 2013 and 66 tons in 2014.

E-cigarettes are deemed as bad for you as tobacco, containing some potentially harmful chemicals that can lead to various diseases, such as strokes, heart attacks and diabetes. Enditem