A parliamentary standing committee has endorsed a bill that aims to hike the tax on electronic cigarettes to 90 percent of the tax levied on general tobacco products.

The National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee held a meeting on Friday and passed a revision bill to the tobacco tax code.

Currently, e-cigarettes are taxable at around 52 percent of the ordinary tobacco tax rate but with the revision, the e-cigarette tax will increase from one-thousand-739 won to two-thousand-986 won.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee will deliberate on the bill before it is put to a vote at a plenary session.

Philip Morris Korea, the vendor of iQOS electronic cigarettes, said a tax hike would likely push up the price of its product from four-thousand-300 won to around five-thousand won a pack.