A few days ago, the "Korea Herald" quoted the new regulations announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea as saying that cigarette manufacturers will have to start printing new health warning icons on the packaging by the end of December this year.

As a follow-up to amendments to the government's tobacco industry regulations passed in June, the Ministry of Health plans to distribute updated brochures on the labelling of health warnings on cigarette packs in recent days. The new graphic health warnings set out in the document include a warning about secondhand smoke, which shows an image of a newborn sucking on a baby bottle full of cigarette butts.

The new regulations will take effect on December 23, and in addition to cigarettes, the new regulations also have an impact on the e-cigarette industry. E-cigarette makers will be required to put health warnings on more than 50 percent of each pack of e-cigarettes, officials said.