Smoking-related behaviour changes among Korean men after the 2015 tobacco price increase: assessing the implications for the tobacco endgame using a reconstructed retrospective cohort study.

Korea's 2015 tobacco price increase affected a significant number of smokers within a year, especially in the lowest income group, inducing some to quit or reduce their smoking amount. However, more smokers quit for reasons independent of the price change. Tax policy can effectively reduce smoking, but needs to be combined with other policies for optimal results.