Korea Must Increase Cigarette Prices

World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan claims the best way to cut down on smoking is to make cigarettes more expensive. Chan, who attended an international seminar in Seoul on ways to curb smoking, pointed out that cigarette prices in Korea, which are around US$2 a pack, are far too cheap compared to $17 in Australia and $10 in Canada. Some 4,000 different substances go into cigarettes, and 1,200 of them are hazardous to health. They include around 20 cancer-causing agents, such as tar and phenol. It is now believed that cigarette smoking accounts for 30 percent of cancer cases around the world. Yet 44 percent of Korean men over 15 light up every day, which is much higher than the OECD average of 27 percent, and cheap cigarette prices are to blame. Raising cigarette prices would have a direct impact on lowering the rate of smoking. According to a model formulated by Cho Sung-il at Seoul National University, increasing cigarette prices by W1,000 starting next year would cut the rate of smoking here from the present 44 percent to 38.9 percent by 2020. A W2,000 hike would reduce the rate to 37.4 percent. What is especially troubling is the fact that smoking is rising sharply among teens and women. When teens pick up the habit, it tends to last a lifetime. Smoking in pregnancy and after childbirth is extremely harmful to both the baby and mother. Korea needs to hike cigarette prices and boost awareness of the dangers of smoking to deal with this epidemic.