The health ministry's 44-second video shows people approaching a cigarette kiosk, but instead of requesting a particular brand they ask the assistant to give them a serious health problem, The Korea Times reports . "Give me a lung cancer," one person says, before the shop assistant hands them a pack of cigarettes. The advert has been running since 16 November as part of the "Smoking is a Disease" campaign. But it has riled the country's largest smokers' group, an online community called I Love Smoking, which has previously challenged government policies in court.

"The ministry's video has clearly crossed the line," the group says in a statement, noting that the government earns a huge amount of tax revenue from tobacco products. "If smoking is a disease, drinking is a disease because it causes liver problems and eating fast food is also a disease as it brings about obesity," it says. "It is a jump of logic and discriminates against smokers." The group wants the advert to be pulled, and is planning a protest in front of the Ministry of Health. It's also calling on the Korea Communications Standards Commission to intervene.