S.Korea's top convenience store chain drops flavoured liquid e-cigarettes (updated)

GS Retail

24/10/2019 05:11

(Adds details of move, background)
    SEOUL, Oct 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's top convenience
store chain GS25 has stopped selling flavoured liquid
e-cigarettes, the parent company GS Retail  007070.KS  said on
Thursday. 
    The sales suspension came a day after the country's health
minister warned the public to stop using liquid vaping products,
citing a number of deaths attributed to e-cigarettes in the
United States.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2771NA
    GS25 halted sales of three flavoured vape products of U.S.
e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, including "tropical" - the
equivalent of mango flavour offered in the United States - and
one product of a local tobacco company KT&G  033780.KS , the
parent company said in a statement. 
    The convenience store firm plans to consider whether to
expand its sales suspension to all liquid e-vaping products,
after results of the South Korean government's investigation
into the products are known.
    The South Korean office of Juul Labs and KT&G were not
immediately available for comment.

 (Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Ju-min Park and
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((Sangmi.Cha@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5646; Reuters
Messaging: sangmi.cha.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))