Smoking Rate Drops to 17.9%, Vaping Rate Climbs to 9.3% in South Korea

Dec.08

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released its 2025 Community Health Survey results covering more than 230,000 adults. Traditional cigarette smoking dropped to 17.9%, down 1 percentage point from last year, while e-cigarette use increased to 9.3%, up 0.6 points. Overall tobacco product use stood at 22.1%, a slight decline from 2024 but still 0.5 points higher than 2019.

Key Points

Smoking rate: 17.9%, down 1 percentage point year-on-year.
E-cigarette use: 9.3%, up 0.6 percentage points.
Overall tobacco use: 22.1%, up 0.5 points from 2019.
E-cigarette usage up 82% since 2019.
Obesity rate: 35.4%, while depression and drinking rates slightly declined.

2Firsts, December 8, 2025 – The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has released the results of its 2025 Community Health Survey, revealing contrasting trends between traditional smoking and e-cigarette use.

Among more than 230,000 respondents, the traditional smoking rate fell to 17.9%, while the vaping rate rose to 9.3%. Combined tobacco product use was 22.1%, slightly lower than last year but 0.5 points higher than in 2019. KDCA said this indicates smokers are increasingly shifting from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes, as e-cigarette use has surged by 82% since 2019.

By region, Chungbuk recorded the highest tobacco product use at 24.7%, while Sejong reported the lowest at 17.3%.

High-risk drinking stood at 12%, having slightly declined after a pandemic-related rebound. Rates were highest in Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Ulsan, and lowest in Sejong, Daejeon, and Seoul.

Depression experience rates dropped to 5.9%, with Seoul and Chungnam topping the list (7%) and Gwangju lowest (3.4%). Meanwhile, the obesity rate rose to 35.4%, up 1 point from last year, continuing a 10-year increase of 27%, though weight-control efforts have grown by only 16%.

Image source: KDCA

References:

[1] 일반 담배 흡연 줄고 전자담배 사용 늘어…6년 전보다 82%↑

Also Read:

[1] South Korea National Assembly Approves Bill to Regulate E-Cigarettes Under Tobacco Law After Nine Years of Debate

[2] South Korea’s Parliament Reconsiders Bill to Regulate Synthetic Nicotine as Tobacco

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