South Korea was the world’s No. 2 heated tobacco market last year, and its growth will gather pace down the road, an industry tracker said.

The size of South Korea’s heat-not-burn electronic cigarette market reached $1.67 billion last year, rising sharply from $453 million tallied in 2017, according to data compiled by Euromonitor International. The country’s overall tobacco market reached $15.6 billion last year.

While South Korea’s tobacco market is anticipated to post limited growth through 2023, the industry tracker said the heat-and-burn tobacco market in the country is expected to grow a whopping 21 percent annually to reach $4.4 billion. (Yonhap)