Institute of Health & Science Convergence, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.
Chungbuk Tobacco Control Center, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.
J Korean Med Sci. 2024 Nov 25;39(45):e328. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e328.
Tobacco control efforts in Korea began nearly three decades ago with the enactment of the National Health Promotion Act in 1995. Monitoring smoking prevalence is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of tobacco control measures, as reductions in smoking rates reflect the impact of anti-smoking policies. This review aims to provide an updated overview of the epidemiology of tobacco use in Korea, outline the nation's advancements in tobacco control, and emphasize emerging challenges in tobacco use. The data sources included statistics and reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, as well as various national statistics and reports on tobacco use and control in Korea. Over the past quarter-century, there was a notable 49.6% reduction in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among Korean adults, with a particularly pronounced decline among men (1998: 66.3% vs. 2022: 30.0%; a 54.8% decrease). However, the reduction among women was more modest, with only a 1.5 percentage point decrease (1998: 6.5% vs. 2022: 5.0%; a 23.1% decrease), and an increase in smoking prevalence was observed among women in their 20s and 30s. Overall use of any tobacco product, including cigarettes, heated tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems, and others, was 6.6 percentage points higher among males and 2.2 percentage points higher among females compared to cigarette smoking alone. In 2019, there were 58,036 deaths attributed to direct smoking in Korea, with an estimated socioeconomic cost of smoking amounting to 12,191.3 billion Korean won. Furthermore, critical issues in tobacco use persist in Korea, including significant disparities in tobacco use related to age, gender, and disability, the growing use of novel tobacco and nicotine products among adolescents and younger adults, and regulatory blind spots. The reduction in smoking rates in Korea reflects the impact of expanded tobacco control policies and public health initiatives. However, for Korea to advance to the next level in tobacco control policies, it is essential to implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's MPOWER measures more thoroughly.
韩国的烟草控制工作始于近 30 年前，1995 年颁布了《国家健康促进法》。监测吸烟流行率对于评估烟草控制措施的效果至关重要，因为吸烟率的降低反映了反吸烟政策的影响。本综述旨在提供韩国烟草使用流行病学的最新概述，概述国家在烟草控制方面的进展，并强调烟草使用方面出现的新挑战。数据来源包括世界卫生组织（WHO）和经济合作与发展组织（OECD）的统计数据和报告、韩国国家健康和营养检查调查以及韩国各种关于烟草使用和控制的国家统计数据和报告。在过去的四分之一个世纪里，韩国成年人的吸烟率显著下降了 49.6%，其中男性的下降幅度更为明显（1998 年：66.3%，2022 年：30.0%；下降 54.8%）。然而，女性的下降幅度较小，仅下降了 1.5 个百分点（1998 年：6.5%，2022 年：5.0%；下降 23.1%），并且 20 多岁和 30 多岁的女性吸烟率有所上升。总体而言，与单独吸烟相比，男性使用任何烟草制品（包括香烟、加热烟草制品、电子尼古丁输送系统等）的比例增加了 6.6 个百分点，女性增加了 2.2 个百分点。2019 年，韩国有 58036 人因直接吸烟而死亡，吸烟造成的社会经济成本估计为 12191.3 万亿韩元。此外，韩国的烟草使用仍存在一些关键问题，包括与年龄、性别和残疾有关的吸烟率存在显著差异、青少年和年轻成年人对新型烟草和尼古丁产品的使用不断增加以及监管盲点。韩国吸烟率的降低反映了扩大烟草控制政策和公共卫生倡议的影响。然而，为了使韩国在烟草控制政策方面更上一层楼，必须更彻底地实施世界卫生组织《烟草控制框架公约》的 MPOWER 措施。
