It was revealed that almost half of the e-cigarette products sold in Korea had higher nicotine content than indicated on the packaging.

The Korea Consumer Agency said that its study of 25 products containing liquefied nicotine solution showed that 48 percent of them had higher nicotine content than indicated on the packaging. The research was conducted in conjunction with the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards.

Of them, 40 percent showed more than a 10 percent difference between the level indicated on the goods and the actual nicotine amount.

According to the chemicals management act, liquefied nicotine solutions containing 1 percent (10mg/ml) or more nicotine is classified as a toxic substance and can only be sold with a license. Among the 25 products, none fulfilled all of the product description requirements.

With the number of e-cigarette consumers rising following the cigarette price hike and antismoking campaign, more caution is advised for those smoking e-cigarettes as the nicotine intake could damage their health, experts said.