The government has earned some 3.6 trillion won ($2.90 billion) in tax revenue linked to last year’s hike in tobacco prices, according to government data.

Sales, however, were not as affected as anticipated.

The Finance Ministry said Thursday that tobacco sales in Korea fell by 23.7 percent from 2014.

Prior to almost doubling cigarette prices to 4,500 won from 2,500 won a pack, the government had predicted sales would fall by 34 percent, while tax revenues would rise by 2.8 trillion won.

Finance Ministry officials said that the sales impact was minimized by a delay in implementing warning messages on cigarette packages about the health risks posed by smoking. The campaign is slated to begin this December.

Local antismoking civic groups welcomed the decline in tobacco sales, noting that a decrease of over 20 percent is significant.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)