Recent analysis shows that raising the price of cigarettes is the most effective policy tool to deter smoking.

According to a simulation analysis conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, raising the current price of 2,500 won, or about two US

dollars per pack, to 8-thousand won, roughly seven dollars, will reduce smoking rates down to 30 percent.

The percentage of men who smoke in Korea reached 43 percent last year which is much higher than the OECD average.

The analysis attributed Korea's increasing nicotine consumption to a lack of an effective policy and excessively low cigarette prices.

(Arirang, 16/08/2010)