Cigarette sales decline by 1.3 percent from 2017

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Cigarette sales decline by 1.3 percent from 2017

Published: 22 Aug. 2018, 19:34

Sales of cigarettes in Korea declined 1.3 percent in the first seven months of the year from a year earlier due to a government-led anti-smoking campaign and higher prices, data showed Wednesday.

Korean smokers purchased 2.01 billion 20-cigarette packs in the January-July period, compared with the previous year’s 2.03 billion packs, according to data compiled by the Finance Ministry. Starting in January 2015, Korea increased the price of cigarettes by 80 percent from 2,500 won ($2.25) per pack to 4,500 won, to curb smoking. In 2016, South Korea mandated that tobacco companies put graphic warnings on the upper part of both sides of cigarette packs to discourage people from smoking.

Yonhap