Tobacco Price Policy and Making Use of the National Health Promotion Fund

Abstract

The socioeconomic cost of smoking in Korea was estimated to be over 12 trillion won as of 2019. This article discusses how the cigarette pricing policy should be implemented and how National Health Promotion excise taxes on cigarettes should be made use of, with a view to preventing the socio-economic harm caused by smoking. As the health of youth and low-income groups is in decline as a result of smoking , it is necessary to actively discuss ways in which the tobacco price policy should be implemented. It is also necessary to review the tobacco tax system as soon as possible. The health promotion excise taxation on tobacco requires an overall effective and efficient redesign and a restructuring of budget allocation, breaking away from the path-dependency of the health promotionproject.