South Korea approves cigarette price hike

Authorities have previously taken steps to curb the smoking rate, including banning smoking in public areas

South Korea's parliament has approved an 80% hike in the price of cigarettes, a move aimed at curbing consumption.

A rise from 2,500 won ($2.25; £1.43) per pack to 4,500 won from 1 January was part of the 2015 budget adopted late on Tuesday.

South Korea has among the highest male smoking rates among OECD countries at 43.7%, according to the Health Ministry.

The government hopes the hike will bring that down to 29% by 2020.

South Korea has one of the lowest prices of cigarettes in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of countries and it has remained unchanged since 2004.

The government has also won approval to link cigarette prices to consumer price rises so that cigarette prices move with inflation growth.

Previous measures to try and curb consumption have included banning lighting up in public places, pictures of the harm caused by smoking on packaging and a ban on tobacco ads in retail stores.