It's been about 18 months since written warnings and graphics were slapped on cigarette packs sold in South Korea.<br />And since then there's been explosive growth in the popularity of so-called "heat-not-burn" e-cigarettes.<br />Now, South Korea is set to become the first country to put graphic labels on those products as well.<br />It'll also be putting even tougher warnings on regular cigarette packs.<br /> Kan Hyeong-woo reports. <br /> 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.<br /><br /> 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.<br /><br />These new labels will appear starting December 23rd.<br /><br /> And until now, "heat-not-burn" electronic cigarettes have had come with only written warnings.<br />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.<br />And to make the warnings more effective, the government plans to explore other options as well.<br /><br /> "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."<br /><br />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.<br /><br /> 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.<br /><br />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.<br /> 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.<br />Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News <br />
