"Raise Cigarette Prices from KRW 4,500 to KRW 8,500"... Calls for First Hike in 11 Years Since 2015: Why?

Cigarette prices frozen at KRW 4,500 since 2015
"Raising prices would cut adult smoking rate from 17% to 14%"
"Annual tax revenue estimated to rise by KRW 2.76 trillion"

Experts have called for South Korea's cigarette prices, frozen at KRW 4,500 for 11 years since 2015, to be raised to KRW 8,500. They say a fundamental overhaul of the system is urgently needed: while incomes and prices have risen, frozen cigarette prices have lowered the barrier to smoking, and nicotine-free e-liquids and new nicotine products exploiting gaps in legal regulations are spreading rapidly. Experts estimate that raising cigarette prices would lower the adult smoking rate by 3.0 percentage points while generating an additional KRW 2.76 trillion in annual tax revenue.

A view of the cigarette display at a convenience store in Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

"Real cigarette prices among the lowest in the OECD... Raising them to KRW 8,500 would cut the smoking rate to 14%"

The National Academy of Medicine of Korea and the Korea Medical and Bio Journalists Association held the sixth media forum on the topic "New Tobacco Trends and the Direction of Smoking Cessation Policy" at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on November 10.

According to Park Eun-cheol, vice president of medical policy at the National Academy of Medicine of Korea, who gave a presentation at the forum, South Korea received an average score of just 3.563 out of 5 in the World Health Organization's (WHO) assessment of tobacco control policies. In particular, it received relatively low scores of 2.5 for tobacco tax increases and 2.125 for protection from secondhand smoke.

Park said that cigarette prices in South Korea have been frozen at KRW 4,500 since 2015 and that prices adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) are also low compared with those in other OECD member countries. He proposed raising the current price of KRW 4,500 to KRW 8,500 to reduce tobacco consumption.

According to a scenario analysis presented by the National Academy of Medicine, raising the price of cigarettes by KRW 4,000, from the current KRW 4,500 to KRW 8,500, is expected to reduce sales of combustible cigarettes by 35.6%. As a result, the adult smoking rate would fall by 3.0 percentage points, from 17.0% to 14.0%, while annual tax revenue related to tobacco is estimated to increase by about KRW 2.76 trillion.

Park also proposed introducing a system that automatically adjusts tobacco taxes and the National Health Promotion Levy in line with inflation and income growth, rather than treating a price increase as a one-off measure. He added that the share of National Health Promotion Levy revenue allocated to supporting health insurance should be reduced from the current 65% to 50%, while general budget support should be expanded so that funding can be focused on disease prevention and health promotion, the fund's original purposes.

Imports of "nicotine-free e-liquids" surge through regulatory loopholes... Warning over influx of new variants

Alongside higher cigarette prices, stronger regulation of new inhalable products was identified as a key challenge. Lee Seong-gyu, director of the Korea Tobacco Control Research and Education Center, said that following the enforcement of the revised Tobacco Business Act, which strengthened regulations on synthetic nicotine, new types of inhalable products not covered by the existing law have begun to appear.

In fact, since the revised law took effect, imports of synthetic nicotine e-liquids have plunged, while imports of nicotine-free e-liquids in the first eight months of this year have exceeded twice the total for all of last year. Cases were also cited in which nicotine and nicotine-like substances were detected in some nicotine-free products.

There are also concerns about complications in preventing youth smoking and guiding students at school. Fruit- and dessert-flavored e-liquids and concealed devices resembling pencil cases or earbud cases could pique young people's curiosity. In particular, if these products are sold as nicotine-free, schools may have difficulty determining whether students are using nicotine, complicating prevention education and student guidance.

A range of other products could enter the domestic market in the future. Lee said that nicotine pouches held by companies including KT&G and Philip Morris Korea, as well as nicotine strips and nicotine toothpicks, could enter or gain popularity in South Korea. Citing increased use of nicotine pouches among U.S. teens, he stressed the need for a proactive management system that is not limited to specific ingredients or product types.

From an industry focus to a public health focus... Proposal to overhaul tobacco regulation law

Experts say it is difficult to keep pace with a rapidly changing tobacco market by adding products to the list of regulated items each time a new one appears. They proposed revising the current Tobacco Business Act into the "Act on the Management of Tobacco and Electronic Inhalation Products" to bring all tobacco and electronic inhalation products under regulation.

Liquid e-cigarettes displayed on a sales counter. Yonhap News Agency

Park stressed that the management system, which has operated with an industry focus, should shift to a public health focus. The aim is to set the scope of regulation broadly, taking into account the effects on public health even when a product's ingredients or form change.

Further proposals were made on other smoking cessation policy measures. Cho Hong-jun, an emeritus professor at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, proposed regulating flavorings, raising cigarette prices and introducing standardized cigarette packaging. Standardized packaging would regulate the design and labeling of cigarette packs, with the aim of strengthening controls on tobacco products. Kim Ji-eun, a director at the Korea Health Promotion Institute, said that authorities should assess the extent of dual use of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes and strengthen youth prevention policies.

Some also argued that tobacco litigation should be used to make regulation more effective. Lim Hyun-jung, director of the Legal Support Office at the National Health Insurance Service, stressed that responsibility for the harms caused by smoking does not change even when new tobacco products take different forms, and that tobacco litigation can constrain companies' advertising, promotions and sales practices while increasing the effectiveness of regulation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.