By Lee Hyo-sik
The government is considering imposing a surcharge on cigarettes, alcohol and junk food in a bid to improve public health and secure funds to boost the national healthcare system. If realized, the cost of cigarettes, alcohol and fast foods will be raised to reduce consumption.
An ad-hoc committee, set up in April by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to draw up measures to overhaul the country’s public healthcare and medical systems, held a meeting Wednesday and decided to push ahead with the plan.
The committee said medical expenses here have jumped at an explosive pace over the years as more Koreans suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, stressing that the nation’s healthcare system should focus more on implementing preventative measures against diseases.
With the aim to boost Koreans’ average lifespan further, the committee said the government should introduce a range of health-promotion programs and seek to reduce the consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and high-calorie junk foods by making them more expensive.
It suggested that prices of cigarettes be increased on a step-by-step basis as a drastic hike could draw protests from smokers.
It also said the sale and consumption of alcohol should be banned in parks and public squares.
The committee said the government needs to impose a surcharge on fast food and soft drinks to tackle Korea’s rising obesity rate, as well as restrict fast food advertisements on TV and prohibit soft drink vending machines from being installed in schools.
“As recommended by the committee, we decided to go ahead with a plan to impose a surcharge on cigarettes, alcohol and junk food. We plan to add more items to the list in the future,” a health ministry official said.
He said the ministry will first check calories of all the fast foods sold here, and raise prices of high-calorie, low-nutrition items. “But we have still not yet finalized the list. We will decide the date, the extent of the surcharge and other details after further discussion,” he said.
The official said the committee will hold two more meetings in August.