In Jaeseung’s blog post about tobacco prices in South Korea, she mentions how the government is planning to impose a price ceiling to deter citizens from purchasing cigarettes.  The government aims to “almost double the price, and [to] eliminate all tobacco-related advertisements by January”.  Jaeseung makes the assumption that this increase in price will deter people from consuming cigarettes, thus improving the health of the general public.  I disagree with this point of view, as I believe that cigarettes are considered a relatively inelastic product due to their nature as an addictive.

Sure, there may be a reduction in the amount of cigarettes purchased through the traditional streams (convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets, etc.) but a stream as old as the traditional market was overlooked: the black market.

An iconic photograph of Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), with a classic cigarette holder.
Intellectual property of Pictorial Press Ltd.

Although there is a portion of the smoking population that will only buy through legal means, there are still people who are interested in purchasing the cigarettes for cheaper.  And there is always someone who’s trying to turn a profit.

Perhaps a more effective deterrent would be mandating anti-smoking ads on the cigarette packs.  In Taiwan, there are ads printed on every pack of cigarettes depicting the effects of tobacco on lungs, and teeth.  These graphic images, in conjunction with the strict smoke-free policies, have deterred students from trying smoking.  There was a reported decrease of 4% in 2011 from 27% in 2004.