TY - JOUR T1 - Korea's 2015 cigarette tax increases JF - Tobacco Control JO - Tob Control SP - 123 LP - 124 DO - 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052104 VL - 25 IS - 2 AU - Rajeev Cherukupalli Y1 - 2016/03/01 UR - http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/25/2/123.abstract N2 - South Korea increased tobacco taxes in 2015 after a 10-year gap. This commentary suggests two lessons for public finance practitioners. Substantive tax increases are crucial to reducing tobacco use; particularly where prices are demonstrably lower and prevalence higher in comparison to other countries ranked similarly on economic development indicators. Second, as a rule of thumb, governments cannot afford to neglect the annual increases that ensure that tobacco taxes do not lose their efficacy over time. ER -