Trends in cigarette smoking among adolescents and adults in South Korea

Choi, Sunhye; Park, Suyeon; Lee, Jihye; Kim, Yoonjung; Oh, Kyungwon

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This report is to examine changes in the smoking rates among adults and adolescents and provide basic data for national health policies.
METHODS
Centers for Disease Control and prevention analyzed Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 1998 to 2013 and Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS) from 2005 to 2013 data to describe cigarette smoking status among adults and adolescents.
RESULTS
In 2013, current cigarette smoking among adult male and female were 42.1 and 6.2%, decreases of 1.6% compared to 2012. Among adolescents, current cigarette smoking were 14.4 and 4.6% for male and female students, decreases of 1.9 and 1.3%p compared to 2012. High current cigarette smoking among adults were associated with lower income and education levels; among adolescents, high current cigarette smoking were associated with a lower perceived family economic status and lower perceived academic records.
CONCLUSION
Current cigarette smoking among adult male have decreased since 2011, whereas among adult female did not a statistically significant annual changes; however, income level differences were distinct. Among adolescents, both male and female students showed decreasing trends, although current cigarette smoking increased in upper grades and the differences between general and vocational high schools remained high. The cigarette smoking statuses of adults and adolescents did not approach the Health Plan 2020 (HP2020) target.