South Korea imported $9.2 million of nicotine-free e-cigarette liquid in the first eight months of 2026 — more than double the $4.5 million in the same period last year — as consumers shifted to products that sit outside the country's tobacco regulations.

The surge is a direct consequence of an April amendment to the Tobacco Business Act, which brought any product containing natural or synthetic nicotine under the tobacco regulatory framework. Nicotine analogues and nicotine-free liquids were left largely unregulated — and the market moved into that gap fast.

The numbers behind the shift

Three figures tell the story:

• Nicotine-free e-liquid imports: $9.2M Jan–Aug 2026, up from $4.5M a year earlier.
• Online listings for liquid e-cigarettes: up 86.3% to 42,437 as of 8 August, from 22,774 before the law took effect (Korea Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education).
• Synthetic nicotine liquid imports: collapsed 97% to $2.8M from May to August, after hitting $89.3M in the first four months of the year — the April amendment caught synthetic nicotine, and imports stopped almost overnight.

Why pouches don't get the same loophole

Nicotine pouches contain real nicotine, so the April amendment pulls them under the tobacco framework too — import controls, taxation and retail restrictions. There's no nicotine-free version of a pouch that would actually deliver what users want, so the fast lane that nicotine-free vapes found doesn't exist for pouches.

What's next

The government is considering broader regulation once the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety finishes an assessment of nicotine analogues by the end of 2026. If analogues get pulled into the tobacco framework the way nicotine did in April, the unregulated corner of the market shrinks again — and the pouch status quo (regulated, taxed, small) stays put.

Compare prices across retailers at PouchFinder.

---

SOURCES:

• South Korea Sees Surge in Nicotine-Free Vape Imports — Tobacco Reporter, 6 Oct 2026