According to a report by n.news on August 27th, the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency recently released a survey report on adult smoking rates from 2019 to 2023. The report shows that while the smoking rate of traditional cigarettes has remained stable, the use of e-cigarettes has significantly increased. The number of smokers is mainly concentrated in the 40-year-old male and 20-year-old female groups.
A report has indicated that the smoking rate in South Korea has increased from 21.6% in 2019 to 22.2%, a rise of 0.6 percentage points. The usage rate of traditional cigarettes has remained stable, while the usage rate of e-cigarettes has increased from 5.1% in 2019 to 8.1% last year.
In terms of gender, the overall smoking rate among men has slightly decreased, from 40.2% in 2019 to 39.9% last year. However, the use of e-cigarettes has seen a significant increase, rising from 9.4% in 2019 to 14.2%. Although the smoking rate among women is lower than that of men, it is also showing an upward trend, especially with e-cigarette usage doubling in the past three years.
The smoking rates among men and women also vary across different age groups, with the highest smoking rates observed among 40-year-old men and 20-year-old women.
In terms of regions, last year the area with the highest smoking rate was Chungbuk, reaching 25.0%; while the lowest smoking rate was in Sejong, only 14.8%.
The survey also revealed that the smoking rate is higher among non-office professions, with the highest smoking rate among skilled and manual laborers reaching 34.4%.
The Director of the Department of Disease Management, Ji Youngmi, stated that smoking is the main cause of various diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and can also weaken the immune system, increasing the risk of infection. She emphasized that although e-cigarettes may have a different form, they pose just as much of a health risk as traditional cigarettes, containing multiple harmful chemicals. Users should remain vigilant about the potential dangers.
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