Tobacco taxes should be raised until the average price for a pack of cigarettes is about ¥700, or 75 percent more than the present level, to cut medical costs, according to health minister Yoko Komiyama.
The ministry, which is participating in a Tax Commission session, will push for increasing tobacco levies by ¥100 annually for three years, Komiyama said recently.
Most of the members of the panel agreed with the idea last year, she said.
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