烟草在线据《韩国先驱报》报道编译　　一个执政党议员提交了一个法案，呼吁提高卷烟税收以抑制吸烟率。

　　执政党新国家党议员李（Lee Man-woo）议员，在7月29日周日提交了法案，呼吁政府改变卷烟税率结构并根据通货膨胀率提高价格。

　　李指出，卷烟税不受通货膨胀影响，因为多年来政府在操纵价格。在新法案中，所有烟草制造商将需要每年根据消费者价格指数调整的通货膨胀，来提高他们的价格。

　　李在一份声明中表示，提高烟草成本，鼓励吸烟者戒烟并阻止年轻人开始吸烟。他补充道，同时，它将有助于降低与吸烟相关的医疗成本。

　　尽管抽烟率高，但是保持了低廉卷烟价格的首尔政府，被批评不积极努力。自2004年以来，在韩国一包卷烟的价格一直维持在2500韩元(2.1美元)和3000韩元之间，是经合组织成员国中价格最低的国家之一。

　　与此同时，韩国一家领先的外国烟草公司对此举表示欢迎。英美烟草韩国公司的资深高管Kim Hyoung-min说：“考虑到韩国在近10年内没有提高烟草消费税，英美烟草韩国公司完全支持该法案。”

　　评论：

　　如何才能更好的控烟？关于这个问题一直是仁者见仁、智者见智，但归结起来，很多人都认为还是政府干预最重要。在韩国，国有的垄断公司KT&G占据领导地位，拥有大约70%的市场份额，随后是英美烟草公司、菲莫公司和日本烟草。韩国的吸烟率很高，也和该国卷烟价格低廉有关，或许出于对国有烟草公司的保护，韩国已有10年没有提高烟税。事实上，受通货膨胀影响，烟草公司可能正在等待一个合适的提价机会。因此，这次的提税议案，也将为烟草公司找到了一个提价的理由。

Korea - South: Lawmaker Submits A Bill to Increase Tobacco Price

　　A ruling party lawmaker has submitted a bill calling for tax hikes on cigarettes to curb the smoking rate.

　　Lee Man-woo, a lawmaker with the ruling Saenuri Party, submitted the bill on Sunday calling the government to change its cigarette tax structure and increase the prices in relation to inflation rate.

　　Lee pointed out that the cigarette taxes are not indexed for inflation as the government has been fixing the price for many years. Under the new bill, all tobacco makers would be required to increase their price each year to adjust for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index.

　　Lee said in a statement that increasing the cost of tobacco encourages smokers to quit and discourages young people from taking it up. Also, it will help reduce medical costs related to smoking, he added.

　　The Seoul government, which maintains cheaper cigarette prices despite the high smoking rate, has been criticized for not making aggressive efforts. Since 2004, a packet of cigarettes has stayed between 2,500 won ($2.1) and 3,000 won in Korea, one of the lowest figues OECD nations.

　　Meanwhile, a leading foreign tobacco player in Korea welcomed the move. BAT Korea's senior executive Kim Hyoung-min said, "BAT Korea fully supports the bill considering there has been no tobacco excise increase in Korea for almost ten years." Enditem