By Kim Hyun-bin
The government is set to beef up anti-smoking efforts to further raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sunday, it is planning to enlarge the graphic warning signs on cigarette packs from the current 50 percent of the package to 70 percent. The plan is part of the ministry's envisaged comprehensive anti-smoking measures that are due in September or October.
Currently, pictorial warnings take up more than 30 percent of both sides of a cigarette pack, with 20 percent covered by written warnings.
In 2016, the government made it mandatory for all tobacco companies to put graphic warnings on the upper part of both sides of each cigarette pack in a move to discourage people from smoking.
Anti-smoking experts have been advising the ministry to enlarge the warning graphics, which could be enforced after the ministry makes slight revisions to the Health Promotion Law enforcement ordinance.
It is mandatory for cigarette companies to change graphic and textual warnings every two years and given that new warnings will be issued in December, new larger graphic warnings are likely to come out in 2021.
Already, many countries across the world have adopted the anti-smoking graphic warnings, sizes of which are much larger than those used in Korea.
In 2001, Canada was first to adopt the graphic warnings on cigarette packs and 105 countries have followed suit as of February 2017.
Out of them, 43 countries require graphic warnings covering no less than 65 percent of the surface of the cigarette packages. Nepal has the largest graphics covering over 90 percent of cigarette packs, followed by Thailand and India with 85 percent. Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay and Sri Lanka also have their graphic health warnings accounting for 80 percent of cigarette packs.
The ministry also plans to expand the no smoking zones around the country.
Under the current law, any stores that are situated in a building that exceeds an area of 1,000 square meters are designated as no smoking zones as well as public facilities, bathhouses and concert halls that can accommodate over 300 people and public transportation stops including bus and subway stations.
Starting last December, all physical training facilities including screen golf and billiard halls have become non-smoking.
Currently restaurants, cafes, bars, bakeries and PC and arcade rooms are designated as non-smoking facilities.
However, there are many other recreational facilities that have not been included in the ban such as karaoke bars, nightclubs, bowling alleys and indoor baseball parks.
The ministry is reviewing most of the facilities that were left unregulated.
The World Health Organization pointed out that expanding no smoking zones and graphic warnings are some of the most successful cost-effective smoking regulation policies.
The ministry also plans to ban smoking within a 10-meter radius at over 50,000 kindergartens and daycare centers around the nation to reduce the effects of secondhand smoke on young children.
According to recent data, cigarette sales have dropped 1.6 percent in the first six months of the year, which has been attributed to the government's anti-smoking campaign.
Koreans purchased 1.68 billion packages of cigarettes in the first half of this year, compared to 1.71 billion packs the previous year, according to data compiled by the finance ministry.