Court says limiting advertisements on e-cigarettes legal
PTI | 02:09 PM,Sep 05,2011Seoul, Sep 5 (Yonhap) A Seoul court ruled today that limiting advertisements on electronic cigarettes containing nicotine is legal since they are another kind of "tobacco" defined by law.A local importer of e-cigarettes filed a suit last June against the Seoul Metropolitan Government after it put a restriction on the company's online ad campaigns for the products.The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the local government, saying the gadget amounts to real tobacco.E-cigarettes, made of plastic and metal, carry a disposable cartridge filed with a solution of liquid nicotine.When the solution is heated, it creates a vapor that smokers inhale."The current law defines cigarettes as all products that make tobacco available for smoking, chewing or smelling. It also stipulates that all cigarette substitutes should be subject to the same regulations as traditional cigarettes," Judge Ahn Cheol-sang of the court said in a verdict."The e-cigarettes in this case contain nicotine concentrate extracted from tobacco and allow users to inhale them. Therefore, they fall in the same category as traditional cigarettes." By law, cigarette sellers are only allowed to run advertisements up to 60 times per year in periodicals that are published less than once a week. The cigarette companies are also banned from directly promoting their products even when they sponsor events.With the increasing popularity of the new device in South Korea since late 2007, being touted for not emitting smoke and having no cancer-causing agents, there have been debates over whether its sellers should face the same restrictions as traditional cigarette companies. (Yonhap)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.
Disclaimer: Network18 Media & Investments Limited is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an offer of its equity shares on rights basis and has filed a Draft Letter of Offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Draft Letter of Offer is available on the website of SEBI at