It's been about 18 months since written warnings and graphics were slapped on cigarette packs sold in South Korea.
And since then there's been explosive growth in the popularity of so-called "heat-not-burn" e-cigarettes.
Now, South Korea is set to become the first country to put graphic labels on those products as well.
It'll also be putting even tougher warnings on regular cigarette packs.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Monday that 12 new warning sentences and graphics will be put on cigarette packs,... including so-called "heat-not-burn" cigarettes.
According to the health ministry, pictures showing the ravages of cancer will be made more explicit, and written warnings will specifically describe how smoking raises the risk of different diseases.
These new labels will appear starting December 23rd.
And until now, "heat-not-burn" electronic cigarettes have had come with only written warnings.
But Korea will be the first country in the world to label them with graphic pictures... to indicate they can be just as harmful as ordinary smokes.
And to make the warnings more effective, the government plans to explore other options as well.
"In the future, we will implement stronger anti-smoking policies. For example, we could make the warnings bigger on the cases or we could introduce plain packaging. Through these regulations, we will put more strict regulations on anti-smoking."
The new pictorial warnings show smokers suffering from cancers of the mouth, heart attacks, stroke and other side effects of smoking such as sexual dysfunction.
A 13-member special committee including government officials and civilian experts worked for one year to come up with the new regulations. And reflected in the process was a survey conducted on 15-hundred smokers and non-smokers.
The Korea Tobacco Association, an industry group, has asked the government to reconsider,... saying the claims made in the new warnings are not scientifically proven.
It also said the warnings on the "heat-not-burn" products need more discussion,... because, it said, there is still debate over how toxic they are.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News
