Why do most countries have heavy restrictions on cigarettes but loose restrictions on e-cigarettes and vapes?

I’m a student from Korea, and recently I realized something that really surprised me. I never understood why cigarettes don’t come in fruity or sweet flavors. When I asked my dad—who used to be a chain smoker until about five years ago—he told me it’s because adults generally don’t like those kinds of flavors. That made me think: if adults don’t like them, then those sweet, fruity flavors must be aimed more at younger people. I looked into it, and that actually seems to be true. Flavored products and colorful, attractive packaging are more appealing to teenagers and kids. That’s also why cigarettes in many countries now come in plain, “ugly” packaging—to make them less appealing. But when you compare that to vapes, it’s completely different. Vapes often look bright, colorful, and even fun. I remember when I first started middle school, I didn’t even know what vaping devices were. I just saw people trying to hide these shiny, rainbow-colored objects. Looking back, it feels like those designs were never meant for adults. So if this is already widely understood, why don’t governments regulate vapes more strictly? A lot of my friends started vaping when they were young, saying they could quit anytime. Now they’re almost 22, and none of them have been able to stop. It’s clearly addictive, and it’s still harmful to health. I’m from Korea, and ironically in Korea taxes from cigarettes and vapes go toward things like education and healthcare. But that can’t be the real reason for relatively loose regulations, right? So what’s actually stopping governments from cracking down harder on these products and preventing young people from getting addicted in the first place?