South Koreans spent a record 8.16 trillion won ($6.46 billion) on cigarettes in 2008 despite efforts by the government and social groups to get people to cut down on smoking, a report by the central bank said Sunday.

The Bank of Korea said the figure represents a 3.9 percent gain from the 7.85 trillion won tallied the year before, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The total is equivalent to 25.2 percent of what the nation spends on medical and health care, 32.37 trillion won, and reflects a steady increase in cigarette purchasing.

Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Outlays on cigarettes reached 5.35 trillion won in 2000 before surpassing the 7-trillion won mark for the first time in 2005, and topped 7.49 trillion won in 2006.

The central bank report also said sales of alcoholic beverages at stores were up 5.7 percent year-on-year to 5.90 trillion won, from 5.58 trillion won tallied for 2007.

The total does not include sales at restaurants or bars.

Combined sales of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages reached 14.07 trillion won in 2008, up 4.7 percent from the previous year. The figure is equal to 43.5 percent of the country's medical and health care spending.

The report, however, said sales of both cigarettes and alcoholic beverages were somewhat affected by the poor economic conditions, with sales falling to a 2.1 percent annual gain in the fourth quarter, the lowest since minus 3.5 percent growth recorded for the fourth quarter of 2005.

On a quarterly basis, domestic sales of the two commodities rose 4.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008 and moved up 5.0 percent from April through June before dipping to 4.0 percent year-on-year growth in the third quarter.