Mens smoking rate edges down
The nation's smoking rate among men slightly decreased but it remained high compared with other advanced nations, the health ministry said Wednesday.
The ministry reaffirmed its strong will to push for "comprehensive" anti-smoking measures in a bid to improve public health.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, the smoking rate for males aged 19 or older stood at 42.6 percent as of June, down from 43.1 percent six months earlier.
The rate for females fell to 2.8 percent from 3.9 percent. The average smoking rate for all adults also decreased 0.9 percentage points to 22.4 percent over the same period.
"The smoking rate for male adults fell slightly but we cannot see it as the start of a downward trend ... It is still a far cry from our objective to lower the rate to 30 percent by the end of this year," the ministry said.
"We think it is urgent to take comprehensive measures including pricing and non-pricing actions aimed at lowering the rate which is still the highest level among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development," it added.
The figures are based on a poll of 3,000 people across the nation by telephone and was conducted in June, the ministry explained. The poll is conducted every six months.
The survey showed that 61.7 percent said that they smoke as a habit with 29.4 percent citing stress as a major reason.
More than half of the respondents said that they have tried to stop smoking out of health concerns. They started smoking at an average age of 21.2, the survey showed.
Of those respondents, 22.8 percent answered that designating more smoking-free zones is the most effective anti-smoking measure, while 18.7 percent cited a price hike for cigarettes. Education on harms caused by smoking was also mentioned.
The ministry said that it will push for "more active and stronger" measures to lower men's smoking rate to the range of 30 percent by providing diverse programs, including education and medical support.