Korea - South: Gov''t Seeks Disclosure of Cigarette Chemicals

Source from:  Korea Times (kr) 01/28/2016

Tobacco makers and importers may have to disclose all the ingredients in cigarettes as part of the government effort to control the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said during a policy report to President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday, that it will seek to require tobacco importers and manufacturers to disclose all of the ingredients, additives and emissions in their products to the ministry before baing allowed to sell them.

Based on the information, the ministry plans to control the use of flavoring materials and additives. It will seek to limit the levels of harmful substances and prohibit sales if the levels are exceeded. The ministry also plans to inform the public about the harmful substances.

A government-designated agency will be responsible for examining tobacco products and taking punitive measures, such as correction orders, suspension of business licenses or recalls against tobacco product manufacturers and importers who violate the regulations.

The ministry has been developing a test to study tobacco's harmful ingredients and evaluation techniques since 2013. Related developments will continue through 2018.

Regarding tobacco, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) opened a research institute last year to study the ingredients in tobacco and assess the harmful effects of smoking. The ministry will work with the institute and share information.

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the opposition People's Party, proposed a bill for controlling tobacco's harmful effects in November. The bill suggests that tobacco companies make public some 4,000 ingredients in their tobacco products, including carcinogenic substances such as urethane and phenol. Disclosing such information is recommended by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Korea ratified the convention but has yet to implement it.

In the meantime, the ministry also plans to expand its regulations on narcotics by punishing those who share information about making and selling narcotics on the Internet.

It will expand the crackdown to online drug manufacturing tutorials and advertisements found on the Deep Web, or Hidden Web, a term referring to content that is not indexed by standard search engines but accessible only with special software. Due to the difficulty in searching the Deep Web, it has often been used for online drug trades. Enditem