But Korea Remains Still Above OECD Average
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The smoking rate among adults is steadily falling, but remains above the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report released Thursday.
Those over age 19 accounted for 21.9 percent of smokers in the first half of the year, down from 23 percent in last year's second half. The smoking rate dropped more for males (1.6 percentage points) than for females (0.9 percentage points), the Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Ministry, and the Korean Association of Smoking and Health said.
``Since a woman's menstrual period causes extreme stress, a smoking female is less inclined to quit than men. Cigarettes have also wrongfully become known as dietary tools,'' said Choi Jin-sook, secretary general of the association.
The ministry said it will cut the national smoking rate to the mid-30 percent level by 2010, but still has long way to go to catch up with developed countries. In 2005, the average smoking rate for an OECD member country was 23.4 percent, and that figure is known to have fallen over the past three years.
A survey of 1,001 men and 1,026 women showed that public campaigns against smoking contributed to the decline of the rate.
More people started smoking later, from an average of 20.8 years last year to 21.3 this year. They are also smoking less and quitting earlier.
Of those who keep smoking, most cited nicotine addiction, severe stress, boredom or peer pressure as reasons for not kicking the habit. Their inability to quit, however, also stemmed from stress, habit and nicotine addiction.
Smoking by adolescents shows no sign of shrinking. The ministry said among high school students, 31.6 percent of boys and 12.7 percent of girls smoke, consuming seven million to eight million packs of cigarettes a year.
Choi suggested designating more open places as no-smoking areas and encouraging more teachers to quit smoking will cut the rate. ``Former U.S. President Clinton defined a cigarette as a drug a long time ago. It is time for the Korean government to take this step also,'' she said.
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