The Chonnam Tribune asked a student for his opinion about tobacco price hike. Let’s think about the issue whild reading his opinion.

"If someone asks me “Do you agree with the tobacco price rise?” my answer is definitely NO. The government said it will make the smoking rate lower and improve people’s health to hike up the price of cigarettes. But, I have doubts about it. In my opinion, the government’s intention is impure. I think the purpose of the new policy is to overcome the deficiency of the tax. It is true that smoking tobacco is very harmful, but most smokers are the working class. If the government raises the tobacco price higher, it will make the gap widen between the rich and the poor. Therefore, if the main reason for the rise is to make people healthier as the government claims, the increased tax from the cigarette price hike should be used only for public health promotion. The government has the responsibility to take care of people’s health."

By Lim Seon-young, Student Editor