Cigarettes in Korea are the cheapest in the OECD, while the smoking rate is the group’s second highest.

According to the data from the European Commission Excise Duty on Tobacco which surveyed the price of the best-selling tobacco in 22 member nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2012, Korea sells the cheapest tobacco at 2,500 won ($2.21) per pack of 20 cigarettes, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday.

Korea also had the second-highest smoking rate, recording 44.3 percent among adults, following Greece which marked 46.3 percent, according to a 2009 OECD report.

“Increasing the prices of cigarettes is highly necessary in a time when the smoking rate for male and female senior highschool students has reached 25 percent and 8 percent. The most effective way to curb smoking is raise the prices of cigarettes,” a health ministry official said.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)