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An electronic cigarette or "e-cigarette", that is an alternative to smoked tobacco products such as cigarettes, is illegally distributed on online marketplace with no quality and safety standards in place. Consumer cautions are needed.
Some of e-cigarettes failed to disclose contents based on milligram of nicotine and the labeling did not coincide with the actual nicotine content, leading to hazards of excessive nicotine inhalation. Eight cartridge (mouthpiece) products were found to have formaldehyde, a group of carcinogens.
※ Cartridge or mouthpiece is a small disposable plastic container, that contains a solution such as nicotine liquid solution (each mouthpiece provides 80 ~ 380 times of inhalation)
These facts are revealed after the Korea Consumer Agency (www.kca.go.kr) investigated seven products of e-cigarette (cartridge: 14 products, liquid cartridge: 12 products) on the market and one e-cigarette type supplement for smoking cessation (cartridge: 1 product) that is approved by the Korea Food and Drug Administration.
Meanwhile, under the Korean Tobacco Business Act, e-cigarettes containing nicotine can be sold only via tobacco retailers in the same way as ordinary cigarettes are sold. However, e-cigarettes are illegally distributed via online in Korea.
Based on these results, the Korea Consumer Agency is going to recommend the enterprisers to comply with related laws such as the Tobacco Business Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and disclose nicotine labeling in a stricter manner, while making a suggestion to establish safety standards for e-cigarettes and strengthen distribution control to related authorities.
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■ By product group, nicotine content gap was large with many products failing to express nicotine content numerically on label
Under the Tobacco Business Act, nicotine content should be expressed based on milligram (mg)-unit. However, out of 26 cartridges (except one product classified as quasi-drug), 13 products (50.0%) expressed their nicotine contents in simple English words as seen in High, Medium, or Low. Meanwhile, one product was found to have failed to disclose nicotine content on label.
Out of six cartridge products (from three companies) expressing nicotine contents in High or Low (or No), nicotine content for each cartridge differed from 3.39mg to 12.59mg or from 0mg to 6.30mg for ‘High’ product group and ‘Low or No’ product group, respectively. Likewise, nicotine content differed significantly even for the product group with similar level of nicotine contents on label.
Highest/ lowest Nicotine Content per a Cartridge
(Unit: mg)
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Seller
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‘High’ Product Group
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‘Low or No’ Product Group
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GABM
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12.59
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6.30
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ZEROS
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9.00
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4.47
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BARON TECH
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3.39
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0
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Gap between the highest and the lowest
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9.20
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6.30
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■ Some products were found to have nicotine contents that differ from those for labeling. There are concerns for abuse/ misuse of e-cigarettes.
By product, nicotine content per one cartridge was different. Also, the nicotine content labeling failed to coincide with the actual content. Likewise, the research revealed that consumers are put in jeopardy of abusing or misusing nicotine without knowing it.
■ Some products were found to have formaldehyde, a group of carcinogens.
Out of 26 e-cigarette cartridge products, solutions for eight products were found to contain formaldehyde of 5.2 ~ 13ppm.
The formaldehyde is classified as Group 1 of carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). If human is exposed to the formaldehyde in high concentration for a long time, the formaldehyde exposure could cause cancer in humans especially cancers of nasal sinuses, nasopharynx, and brain.
■ E-cigarettes are often sold via online not by tobacco retailers
Under the Korean Tobacco Business Act, e-cigarettes containing nicotine can be sold only via tobacco retailers as ordinary cigarettes are sold. However, significant number of e-cigarettes is illegally distributed via online in Korea.
Also, under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act in Korea, supplement for smoking cessation should be sold after being approved by the KFDA. However, among five enterprisers, who labeled their cartridge products as nicotine-free, only one enterpriser was found to win the KFDA approval.
Based on these results, the Korea Consumer Agency is going to recommend enterprisers in the industry to more comply with related laws such as the Tobacco Business Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and disclose nicotine labeling in a stricter manner, while making a suggestion to establish safety standards for e-cigarettes and strengthen distribution control to related authorities.
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Supplementary coverage
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Hae-gak Lee, Head of Food & Pharmaceutical Safety Team, Consumer Safety Bureau (☎ 82-2-3460-3411)
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Joung-nam Kim, Senior Manager of Food & Pharmaceutical Safety Team, Consumer Safety Bureau (☎ 82-2-3460-3413)
l Testing & Research: Dong-pil Kim, Research Fellow of Chemical & Textile Team of Testing & Research Dept.
(☎ 82-2-3460-3033)
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