"Frozen for 11 years"—Will cigarette prices jump from 4,500 won to 10,000 won? Liquor tax hike also under review

[The Financial News] The government’s new blueprint for a national health promotion plan, which includes stronger measures for youth health and responses to the climate crisis, features proposals to raise cigarette prices and introduce a new levy on alcoholic beverages.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare convened the National Health Promotion Policy Review Committee and deliberated and approved the 6th National Health Promotion Plan (2026–2030). The 6th plan sets out a vision of "a society where everyone enjoys health throughout their lives" and aims to extend healthy life expectancy and improve health equity.
The government will keep its 2030 target for healthy life expectancy at 73.3 years overall, the same as the previous goal, with 71.4 years for men and 75.0 years for women. It also plans to narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy between the top 20% and bottom 20% income groups to 7.6 years or less.
Under the National Health Promotion Act, the government is considering raising the national health promotion charge levied on cigarettes and newly imposing the charge on alcoholic beverages. In line with the 5th plan, the goal is to increase the health promotion charge to the average level among member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Given that the average cigarette price in OECD countries in 2023 was 9,869 won, domestic prices could rise into the 10,000-won range. In Korea, cigarette prices were raised from 2,500 won to 4,500 won in 2015 and have been frozen since then.
The government also plans to move in tandem with the price hike by banning flavor additives, prohibiting advertising and promotions for devices used exclusively for e-cigarette smoking, and introducing standardized plain cigarette packs without branding. Through these measures, it aims by 2030 to reduce the current adult smoking rate compared with 2024, from 28.5% to 25.0% for men and from 4.2% to 4.0% for women.

The government also intends to tighten monitoring of youth access to alcohol and expand bans on alcohol advertising content and targets, in order to curb environments that encourage drinking, such as online "drinking shows" where hosts consume alcohol on air. In addition, it is reviewing price policies, including imposing a health promotion charge on alcoholic beverages, to help reduce alcohol consumption.
Currently, the national health promotion charge is levied and collected only on cigarettes, at 841 won per 20-stick pack of conventional cigarettes. The new plan would extend this charge to alcoholic beverages as well. By introducing or restructuring health promotion charges on products harmful to health, the government aims both to cut consumption of such products and to increase funding for the National Health Promotion Fund.
Youth health has been designated as a separate priority area. The government will expand support for mental health screenings for all young people and subsidize initial treatment costs to improve access to care. To address emerging health threats from climate change—such as heat waves, cold spells, and new infectious diseases—the 6th plan also establishes a new "Health Management for Climate Crisis Response" division.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter