South Korea calculates the price of addiction

If the price of cigarettes in South Korea were to be increased to almost four times the current level, even financially well-off smokers might be prompted to quit, according to a story in The Korea Times.

According to a survey of 800 smokers carried out by the Korea Health and Social Affairs organization, a price of WON8,943 per pack of cigarettes is the tipping point at which most smokers would start to think seriously about quitting. The current average price of a pack of cigarettes is about WON2,500.

That threshold varies according to smokers’ incomes, with those in the bottom 25 percent income bracket saying WON8,497 per pack would prompt a lifestyle change, and those in the top 25 percent saying WON9,660 per pack would be too much to pay.