Dear editor,
In the April 4 "Cigarette packaging row" editorial, the government's showcasing of a set of horrible warning images to be put on cigarette packs is mentioned as a step in the right direction as part of efforts to rein in the highest smoking rate among OECD nations.
But the problem is that the alarmingly high smoking rate that the nation witness will not be reduced with the warning picture initiative, unlike the editorial argues it will or it should be.
The reason is simple: What drives Korean adult men to smoking is stress from abnormally long working hours and a smothering, rigid top-down culture at the workplace.
The outlet available for workers to get their steam out is to light up cigarette and puff out stress in grey smoke during a break.
That's why a tobacco price hike of 2,000 won, which was rightly seen as more of a thinly veiled attempt to supplement a fiscal deficit than a public health improvement effort, failed to put a sustainable dent in the number of smokers.
As to how big an impact pictorial warnings will have on the smoking rate, we already know the answer: Little to no effect if workers continuously have to work overtime in a show of commitment and loyalty to companies where the hierarchy is a big stressor.
Working overtime means a decline in quality time workers would otherwise spend with their families.
Without tackling the real reason why a high percentage of Koreans turn to nicotine as a stress reliever, the latest regulatory move that is a prelude to scaring smokers off from smoking will be another failure.
To make a case for a mandatory display of warning images on cigarette packs, the editorial cites a successful reduction in smokers of other countries where parallel measures have been adopted.
But South Korea is very different when comparing working conditions, public health care, social safety nets and other cultural factors.
This means that in vastly different social settings, it can't be asserted at the risk of oversimplification that a similar scary warning image tactic in an anti-smoking campaign will induce a desired cut in the smoking rate.
Kim Keon-yeong
Graduate of Seoul National University
statesman0607@gmail.com
In the April 4 "Cigarette packaging row" editorial, the government's showcasing of a set of horrible warning images to be put on cigarette packs is mentioned as a step in the right direction as part of efforts to rein in the highest smoking rate among OECD nations.
But the problem is that the alarmingly high smoking rate that the nation witness will not be reduced with the warning picture initiative, unlike the editorial argues it will or it should be.
The reason is simple: What drives Korean adult men to smoking is stress from abnormally long working hours and a smothering, rigid top-down culture at the workplace.
The outlet available for workers to get their steam out is to light up cigarette and puff out stress in grey smoke during a break.
That's why a tobacco price hike of 2,000 won, which was rightly seen as more of a thinly veiled attempt to supplement a fiscal deficit than a public health improvement effort, failed to put a sustainable dent in the number of smokers.
As to how big an impact pictorial warnings will have on the smoking rate, we already know the answer: Little to no effect if workers continuously have to work overtime in a show of commitment and loyalty to companies where the hierarchy is a big stressor.
Working overtime means a decline in quality time workers would otherwise spend with their families.
Without tackling the real reason why a high percentage of Koreans turn to nicotine as a stress reliever, the latest regulatory move that is a prelude to scaring smokers off from smoking will be another failure.
To make a case for a mandatory display of warning images on cigarette packs, the editorial cites a successful reduction in smokers of other countries where parallel measures have been adopted.
But South Korea is very different when comparing working conditions, public health care, social safety nets and other cultural factors.
This means that in vastly different social settings, it can't be asserted at the risk of oversimplification that a similar scary warning image tactic in an anti-smoking campaign will induce a desired cut in the smoking rate.
Kim Keon-yeong
Graduate of Seoul National University
statesman0607@gmail.com
