Buying cigarettes too easy for minors

By Kim Rahn

More than seven out of 10 adolescent smokers were able to buy cigarettes from stores without being asked for identification, according to survey figures released Wednesday.

Health authorities said that demonstrates the need for a crackdown on illegal tobacco sales, as well as more limited access to tobacco in retail stores.

A 2013 study by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) found that 76.5 percent of 7,435 teens who had attempted to buy cigarettes at least once over the previous month said they could do so easily because the sellers had not checked their ages.

The survey involved students ranging from their first year of middle school to their final year of high school. Among middle school first-graders, 33.9 percent said they could buy cigarettes easily, and the figures increased the older the students _ 59.2 percent of middle school second-graders, 67 percent of middle school third-graders, 79 percent of high school first-graders, 81.8 percent of high school second-graders, and 87.6 percent of high school seniors found it easy to buy cigarettes.

Underage tobacco purchases were easier for female students than their male peers, with 92.5 percent of female high school seniors saying they could buy cigarettes compared with 87.6 percent of male high school seniors.

Under the law, anyone who sells tobacco or alcohol to minors is subject to up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 10 million won, as well as administrative punishments such as a two-month suspension of operations.

“In reality, it is not easy to crack down on illegal tobacco sales to adolescents unless we get reports,” a KCDC official said.

Health experts say such easy access to cigarettes is one of the reasons for Korea’s high adolescent smoking rate.

Last year, 14.4 percent of male students in middle and high school were smokers, according to the KCDC. Among high school seniors, the smoking rate was 25 percent ― higher than the average adult smoking rate for all OECD member countries, which stood at 24.9 percent.

The government plans to increase cigarette prices from the current 2,500 won per pack to 4,500 won in 2015, saying the price hike will encourage smokers to quit ― especially teenage smokers.

The government is also moving to ban cigarette advertising at convenience stores, citing experts who have identified teenagers as a vulnerable group easily influenced by advertising.

The Korean Association on Smoking or Health conducted a survey in May of last year on 151 convenience stores within a 200-meter radius of middle and high schools in five districts in Seoul. It found that each store carried 6.3 cigarette ads on average, including LED signboards and miniature cigarettes.

“Stricter regulation of cigarette ads is needed to protect young people from smoking,” the KCDC official said.