Military to stop selling duty-free cigarettes

뉴스 제공

2005-08-02 21:30

Seoul--(뉴스와이어)--The South Korean military will stop selling soldiers tax-free cigarettes by 2009 in facilitation of its anti-smoking campaign, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday (Aug. 2).

At present, South Korean troops can buy packs of the domestic cigarette brand, “This,” at a price of 250 won (24 cents), or one-tenth of the actual price.

“Public opinion that cheap duty-free cigarettes causes soldiers to start smoking is mounting,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry will stop providing tax-free cigarettes by 2009 after gradually reducing the supply, the statement said.

According to a recent poll, 59.4 percent of South Korean soldiers said they are smokers, 6.3 percent higher than civilians.

웹사이트: http://www.mnd.go.kr