The effectiveness of Korea’s anti-smoking policy ranked 24th out of 25 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a report said Wednesday.

The country’s smoking rate was the second-highest among 34 OECD countries in 2009, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said in the report. The state-run institute claimed that the country’s weak anti-smoking policy was connected to its low cigarette prices.

Ireland was found to have the strongest anti-smoking policy among its OECD peers, mainly due to its high cigarette prices and tough regulation of ads, it added.

Korea received 16.96 out of a total 80 in the institute’s assessment of tobacco prices, no-smoking zones, and ad regulation.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)