Hanguk News: One out of four high school male seniors smoke now ... Stop smoking success rate is less than 5%.

Friday, November 16, 2012

One out of four high school male seniors smoke now ... Stop smoking success rate is less than 5%.

Korea youth smoking rate was 12.1% last year. One out of eight youths smoke now. Because cigarettes can be easily and cheaply accessible, there is such a high youth smoking rate.

This is the result of last year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of Korean youth. Nearly half of the youth who had tried smoking, 50.4% response was, "I buy direct cigarettes." and the five people in four people (81%) replied "Directly buying cigarettes was not difficult.".

Korea compared to other countries, cigarettes are cheaper too. Department of Health and Human Services Health Promotion Director Bae Geum Ju said "The most obvious youth stop smoking policy is warning photos or stop smoking education and raising the price.".

If price of cigarettes rises, youth access to tobacco is difficult. Because adolescents compared to adults do not have much money. Actually 'Youth stop-smoking campaigns’ in the United States, according to a survey, whenever 10 percent hike in the price of cigarettes, adult smoking rate is 5%, and youth smoking rate is 7% fell.

Welfare promoted increase in the price of cigarettes while they notified smoking graphic warning on cigarette packs more than half last September to make amendments to the National Health Promotion. Welfare Im Jong Gyu health policy director said "Cigarettes price impression is desperately needed in the situation of third year of high school boys smoking by 25% and the third year of high school girls smoking by 8.1%". The ministry official "the price of cigarettes in order to reduce youth smoking rates would have to rise to more than double the amount of current (5000 won)." said.

Youth smoking once started is difficult to stop smoking. Because As early start smoking, nicotine addiction is more serious.

The Korean Association of Stop Smoking and Health Chairman, Seo Hong Gwan said “Youths started smoking cigarettes have only 1-5% of non-smoking success before they grow to adults. So smoking prevention policy is very important.”

On the other hand, the world's largest international conference The World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco Control Framework Convention on (FCTC) 5th Conference of the Parties with cigarettes problem will take place in Seoul from the 12th.

Original article:

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/11/12/2012111200017.html