Government seeks cigarette price hike to lower smoking rate скачать в хорошем качестве

Government seeks cigarette price hike to lower smoking rate

Smokers have it good here in Korea. Cigarette prices are the lowest among OECD countries, and haven't changed for 10 years. As the smoking rate has been the second highest last year, the government tries to tackle the issue with plans of raising tobacco prices. Kwon Soa reports. Just last week, Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare released a shocking anti-smoking advertisement in the hope it would convince smokers to kick their habit. At a recent symposium held on "World No Tobacco Day", the ministry said it will actively push ahead with the World Health Organization's recommendation to raise cigarette prices to bring down the country's high smoking rate. In Korea you pay 2,500 won or roughly 2-and-a-half U.S. dollars for a pack of 20 cigarettes. That's the cheapest out of the 41 OECD nations. A pack of cigarettes is more than six times more expensive in Norway than it is in Korea. Experts say the relation between the price of tobacco and quitting cannot be ignored. "In 2004, the tax increased by 500 won per pack, and it resulted that cigarette sales decreased 27 percent in 2005, just one year." "I don't think I will quit smoking if the prices rise a little bit, but I might if they double." "I used to smoke. I think the smoking rate would only drop with price hikes to three or four dollars a pack, since people would be burdened." But, there's a reason why the government has failed on a number of occasions to push through with a raise. "There are concerns people in the low-income bracket will be hit hardest, since a cigarette price hike also means a tax hike." The tax paid on tobacco products is the same for high or low-income people. Tobacco tax is also paid indirectly, meaning the tax is not collected by the government, but by tobacco companies. "Based on the scientific evidence tax increase is one of the best buys for tobacco control policies." That's why experts say the increased tax revenue from cigarette sales must be used to develop more efficient anti-smoking and smoking cessation programs. Kwon Soa, Arirang News.