South Korea Cigarette Sales Fell in 2019, Heated Tobacco Sales Rose
South Korea’s cigarette sales fell 0.7% in 2019 amid anti-smoking campaigns and higher prices, while heated tobacco products continued to gain share in the market.
According to The Korea Herald, data collected by South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance showed that cigarette sales in the country fell 0.7% year-on-year in 2019, due to anti-smoking campaigns and higher cigarette prices.
Smokers bought 3.45 billion packs of 20 cigarettes last year, compared with 3.47 billion packs in 2018.
That figure was down 20.9% compared with 2014, when South Korea raised cigarette prices by 80%, from KRW 2,500 (about US$2.14) per pack to KRW 4,500.
In 2016, South Korea also required tobacco companies to print graphic health warnings on their products.
The decline in combustible cigarette sales from 2018 to 2019 was partly offset by growth in heated tobacco product sales: in 2019, conventional cigarette sales fell 2.4% year-on-year to 3.06 billion packs, while heated tobacco sales rose 9.3% year-on-year to 360 million packs.
During 2018-2019, government tobacco tax revenue fell 6.5% to KRW 11 trillion.
