Korea's secondhand smoke problem resurges, undoing years of progress

Cigarette packs are on display at a convenience store in downtown Seoul, May 21. Yonhap

After years of steady progress, Korea is confronting a troubling reversal in its fight against secondhand smoke, with new government data indicating a significant uptick in exposure rates in indoor public spaces and workplaces. The recent findings mark an unwelcome shift following three consecutive years of decline in ambient smoke exposure across the nation.

This resurgence not only poses renewed health risks to the non-smoking population but also raises questions about the efficacy and enforcement of existing anti-smoking regulations. For a country that has invested considerable effort into public health campaigns and smoke-free policies, the data suggests a potential backslide that could undermine long-term efforts to protect its citizens from the dangers of passive inhalation.

According to the latest survey from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 8 percent of non-smoking Korean adults reported exposure to secondhand smoke in indoor workplace settings in 2023. This figure represents a concerning climb after a period of consistent improvement, where the rate had fallen from 14.1 percent in 2019 to a low of 6.3 percent in 2022.

Nonsmokers’ exposure to indoor secondhand smoke in public places steadily declined from 18.3 percent in 2019 to 7.4 percent in 2022, before rising slightly to 8.6 percent in 2023.

This shift coincides with changes in Korea’s smoking population, which had steadily declined across all age groups from 22.8 percent in 2018 to a record low of 17.7 percent in 2022 before rebounding that same year.

About one in five Korean adults — 19.6 percent — were smokers in 2023. The rate is significantly higher among men, at 32.4 percent, compared to just 6.3 percent for women. The KDCA explains that this gender gap is largely due to the social stigma surrounding female smoking and believes the actual number of female smokers is likely higher than reported.

Since 1998, women’s smoking rates have stayed relatively steady, hovering between 5 and 7 percent. In contrast, the smoking rate among Korean men has dropped dramatically — from 60.9 percent in 2001 to 39.4 percent in 2015 — largely due to the government’s active anti-smoking campaigns.

An anti-smoking banner hangs near a children's park in Seoul's Seocho District in this June 18, 2024 photo. The District Office has imposed a 50,000 won fine on those who smoke within 10 meters of any of the 72 children's parks in the district. Newsis

As a result, the secondhand smoke exposure rate — which exceeded 50 percent in 2014 — has declined significantly in recent years.

Despite progress in reducing smoking rates, the social toll of smoking in Korea remains substantial, resulting in more than 70,000 deaths and costing the country 13.6 trillion won ($9.8 billion) annually.

According to a KDCA report released Friday to mark World No Tobacco Day — which falls on Saturday this year — 72,689 Koreans died from smoking-related causes in 2022. This number has continued to rise, up from 61,360 in 2020 and 63,426 in 2021.

The report also found that smokers face a higher risk of death than nonsmokers — 1.7 times higher for men and 1.8 times higher for women.

The socioeconomic cost of smoking, which includes health care expenses for smoking-related illnesses and deaths, as well as productivity losses from premature death and absenteeism, climbed to 13.6 trillion won in 2022. This marks an increase from 12.8 trillion won in 2020 and 12.9 trillion won in 2021.

Of particular note, productivity loss from premature death accounted for the largest share of the indirect costs, making up 52.5 percent — equivalent to 7.2 trillion won.

A man enters a smoking booth installed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at Cheongnyangni Station, Monday, part of efforts to reduce the harms of secondhand smoke. Yonhap

In response, the government has pledged to adopt a more aggressive anti-smoking policy in line with World No Tobacco Day.

“We will support revisions to relevant laws to regulate all types of tobacco products,” Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong said during a World No Tobacco Day event on Thursday.

“We are also committed to strengthening smoking cessation efforts by thoroughly preparing to enforce the Act on the Management of Harmfulness of Tobacco, which aims to better inform the public about the dangers of smoking,” he added.