Tobacco sales are on the rise again despite the government's antismoking policy.
 
Market research firm Nielson Korea said Wednesday that 35-point-four billion cigarettes were sold between January and June, up 14 percent from the same period last year.
 
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that according to a national health survey conducted in May, the smoking rate for male adults aged 19 or older stood at 39-point-three percent last year, down from 43-point-one percent in 2014.
 
The ministry said it marked the first time the smoking rate fell to the 30-percent range since it began keeping related statistics in 1998. It attributed the drop to the government's antismoking policy, including a tobacco price hike early last year and the expansion of no-smoking zones.
 
However, the smoking rate is not likely to remain at the 30-percent level for long in light of increased tobacco sales in the first half of this year.