Sales of cigarettes in South Korea rose 1 percent in November from a year earlier, data showed Friday, amid an anti-smoking campaign and higher prices.

South Korean smokers purchased 288 million 20-cigarette packs in November, compared with 285.1 million in the same period of last year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The figure represented a 20.5 percent drop from November 2014, just months before South Korea increased the price of cigarettes by 80 percent, from 2,500 won ($2.2) per pack to 4,500 won.

The price hike, which went into effect in January 2015, was meant to curb smoking.

The South Korean government mandated tobacco companies place graphic images depicting the harmful effects of smoking on the upper part of cigarette packs in 2016. (Yonhap)