Smoking Among Teenagers In South Korea Goes Down By 1.4 Percent This Year as Cigarette Prices Increase

Teenage smoking in South Korea is on the decline as prices for cigarettes increase to 2,000 won in South Korea.

According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Monday, the number of teens who smoke cigarettes more than once a day in the past 30 years has gone down to 7.8 percent, showing a 1.4 percent decrease from the findings in 2014.

This is the lowest recorded figure since the KCDC started conducting the surveys in 2005, the Chosun Ilbo wrote Friday.

Korea Herald reported Nov. 18 that the survey was conducted from June to July with 68,043 middle and high school students as respondents.

The results of the survey suggest that approximately 65,000 students have quit smoking.

The smoking rate declined faster for male students compared to girls. The smoking rate for boys fell from 14 percent to 11.9 percent, while the smoking rate for girls was down at 3.2 percent from last year's four percent.

Oh Kyung Won of the KCDC said the decline has been attributed to the cigarette price hike and government campaigns to effectively curb smoking.

At the start of the year, the government implemented a nationwide smoking ban, under which people are prohibited from lighting a stick in restaurants, bars and cafés. The government also established an anti-smoking research institute in October where tobacco ingredients and the effects of smoking are being studied.

Under South Korea's anti-smoking law, anyone caught smoking in public will be subjected to a 100,000 won fine, while shop owners that allow anyone smoking to smoke in public areas will be given a five million won fine.

In 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) noted South Korea as having the highest smoking rates among developed nations. 43.7 percent of South Korean males were reportedly smoking, which is higher than the OECD average of 26 percent.