According to South Korea’s “Asia Times” reported that British American Tobacco (BAT) plans to launch atomized electronic cigarettes (CSV) in South Korea (Korean e-cigarettes generally refer to “heating without burning products”) to meet market demand.
BAT will launch atomized e-cigarettes in South Korea
BAT officials said that although there is no clear timetable, they have been actively preparing to launch atomized e-cigarettes in the South Korean market, and they are conducting an internal evaluation to be ready to enter the market at any time.
The person also explained that atomized e-cigarettes are very popular overseas, and the market size is expected to be larger than it is now. Since BAT has products that are sold abroad, it is deciding whether to introduce them to the Korean market.
In addition, the relevant people also said that BAT is preparing to launch other harm reduction products to meet market demand.
Asia Times believes that although PMI has not specifically considered plans to relaunch vaped e-cigarettes, they have recently launched vaped e-cigarette products overseas and have shown signs that they may consider the Korean market. PMI launched the “VEEBA” single-use vaped e-cigarette in the UK in March this year.
The consumption of atomized electronic cigarettes is gradually increasing
It is worth noting that cigarette consumption in the South Korean tobacco market has gradually declined, while the consumption of atomized e-cigarettes has gradually increased. This phenomenon has led the tobacco industry, which has not been involved in atomized smoke before, to pay attention to atomized smoke products.
According to the data of the Korean Disease Management Bureau, the smoking rate in South Korea has continued to decline for more than ten years, while the smoking rate of atomized electronic cigarettes has gradually increased.
According to 2020 data, the adult smoking rate is 34.0%. Among them, the smoking rate of atomized electronic cigarettes is about 3.2%, accounting for about 10% of the total smoking rate. This is a nearly five-fold increase from eight years ago in 2013, when vaping accounted for only about 2% of total smoking.
The adult smoking rate has dropped from 66.3 percent in 1998 to less than half today, showing a continuous downward trend. In 2022, the adult smoking rate reached 31.3 percent, an all-time low. The traditional cigarette market is expected to continue its steady decline.
References:
【1】기지개 펴는 ‘액상’ 담배 시장… BAT로스만스 “국내 출시 검토중”