%0 Journal Article %A Rajeev Cherukupalli %T Korea's 2015 cigarette tax increases %D 2016 %R 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052104 %J Tobacco Control %P 123-124 %V 25 %N 2 %X 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. %U https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/tobaccocontrol/25/2/123.full.pdf