This is a policy review that addresses misunderstandings about policies in the media and answers questions about policies in daily life. There has been criticism that including ‘tar’ in the process of disclosing harmful tobacco ingredients is not in line with the purpose of the law. We will verify the facts, and recently, smishing messages have significantly increased due to the personal information leak incident at Coupang.
Recently, media reports with the title ‘Revealing the mixed substance tar… Controversy over the Tobacco Harm Management Act’ stated that including ‘tar’, a mixture of thousands of chemical substances, as a single ingredient in the inspection target is not in line with the purpose of the law. In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, “We will inspect harmful tobacco ingredients based on scientific expertise and disclose all major harmful ingredients.”
The government clarified that the inspection and disclosure targets of the ‘Tobacco Harm Management Act’ are not limited to single ingredients. Many countries, including the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Brazil, also regulate tar, a complex substance in tobacco, and Korea’s ‘Tobacco Business Act’ also defines tar as a tobacco ingredient and manages its labeling and content. Regarding the criticism that some of the 44 harmful ingredients do not even have official test methods, it was reported that improved test methods for the 44 harmful ingredients were prepared and disclosed through years of research projects, referencing official test methods from the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Standardization, and Canada.
Recently, smishing crimes exploiting the personal information leak incident at Coupang have been increasing. Smishing scams focus on ‘click inducement’ and ‘personal information theft’. Due to the personal information leak, the accuracy of smishing targets has increased, and the probability of damage has risen, making it necessary to be more cautious. To prevent and report these scams, do not click on internet addresses in suspicious messages, and verify the facts with the official customer service center. It is also advisable to delete suspicious messages immediately. Reports can be made to the police at 112, the Financial Supervisory Service at 1332, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency at 118.