Some public places completely ban smoking outdoors[10] 46,762 people die each year in South Korea as a result of smoking. Recently, despite very few anti-smoking campaigns, Koreans have begun to raise their voices against second-hand smoke. Korea`s most densely populated streets were completely smoke-free, including the road to Gangnam subway station and most of the streets around universities, which tend to be heavily crowded. Even before drafting a bill to ban smoking in apartment buildings, several building owners had banned smoking in their buildings, including apartment buildings, due to concerns about second-hand smoke. Tobacco use is considered the leading cause of preventable death and disability worldwide. [54] Although awareness of the health effects of tobacco is increasing, the smoking environment in South Korea continues to be a significant burden of preventable death. [55] Smoking-related mortality was 58,155 deaths in 2012, of which 49,704 (34.7%) were adult males and 8,451 (7.2%) were adult females. 41.1% and 5.1% of all male and female cancers and 33.4% and 5.4% of all male and female cardiovascular diseases were attributed to smoking. [56] In addition, it was found that the prevalence of major smoking-related diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, cardiovascular disease) is higher among former and current smokers than among non-smokers. COPD had a significant association with current and former smoking in both male and female smokers after controlling for other variables.
[54] A planned study of KT smokers will include the implementation of an adaptive just-in-time (JITAI) intervention [67]. JITAI are customized and managed in real time. Therefore, due to their flexibility, they can easily be adapted to specific population groups such as KAEA [67]. Based in part on data from focus group analyses, the design of a smoking cessation initiative considers several decision points (i.e., when intervention is required). In their process, the authors identified decision points, intervention options, and suitable variables. Although this study is conducted in the United States, the methodology can easily be adopted in South Korea. Smoking is illegal and strictly prohibited in the following premises: Smoking remains a major global health problem. Although the proportion of smokers has decreased worldwide, the total number of smokers has increased due to population growth [1]. In 2012, there were an estimated 967 million daily smokers, up from 721 million in 1980 [2]. Worldwide, approximately six million people die each year from tobacco-related diseases [3].
Smoking is associated with an increased risk of many health problems, including cardiovascular disease, various cancers and strokes [4]. Of the approximately six million people who die each year, 600,000 die from second-hand smoke. Tobacco control measures must be comprehensive in order to maximize effectiveness and sustainability. One study asked Korean smokers about the price increase they would need to try to quit. [19] Overall, the median price for quitting smoking was $5.31, more than 2.3 times the current typical price of $2.27. Those who responded with a higher price to quit also tended to worry less about the negative health effects of smoking and smoked more cigarettes per day. [19] In addition, the survey found that the price of smoking cessation and smoking prevalence were lower among those who were not exposed to tax measures to control smoking than among those who were not exposed to smoking cessation measures. Therefore, these results suggest that tobacco control measures should be accompanied by duty-free tobacco control measures.
This study was conducted on the basis of multi-year cross-sectional surveys conducted in Korea among non-institutionalized adult men and women. Temporal trends in smoking prevalence and socio-economic inequalities were examined. In summary, smoking prevalence declined significantly between 1992 and 2016, especially among older Korean men. However, young Korean women have seen an increase in smoking prevalence. In the future, tobacco control measures should be developed to address these long-term trends in smoking prevalence among subgroups. Although smoking prevalence in Korea decreased between 1992 and 2016, inequalities in smoking were evident during this period. Absolute and relative inequalities, as measured by DP, ISI, PR and IIR, have increased since 1992, despite the implementation of various tobacco control measures, and these results therefore suggest that these measures have not been effective in reducing inequalities in smoking prevalence. The results of our study show the need for tobacco control measures to reduce inequalities in tobacco use, including further increases in tobacco prices. In addition, a review of long-term trends in smoking prevalence and inequalities will provide a fundamental basis for determining the direction of new tobacco control measures to be implemented in the future. In the past, tobacco control health policies have not been promoted as aggressively in South Korea as in other countries [13]. Less than 60% of Koreans express interest in quitting, and indifference is a barrier to successful smoking cessation and reduced smoking prevalence [14,15].
In addition, legislation on e-cigarettes, which are potentially harmful products, is limited [16]. Although the guidelines for tobacco and NDS appear to be separate, the widespread use of e-cigarettes can normalize nicotine consumption in general and interfere with the progress made through tobacco control campaigns. East Asian researchers have also studied non-pharmacological and evidence-based withdrawal therapies, such as acupuncture stimulation [59,60]. A meta-analysis of 20 studies in English and Chinese examined the effect of acupuncture on smoking cessation [59] and showed that acupuncture can be an effective therapy. In addition, South Korean research has described the mechanism underlying the effect of acupuncture on signal-induced desire. In particular, acupuncture in certain regions of the brain (medial prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, amygdala and hippocampus) resulted in a decreased response to stimuli caused by smoking [61]. Thus, cravings are alleviated during the initial abstinence phase of smoking cessation. This approach is proving to be a potential secondary alternative for high-risk populations where social stigma is high and treatment seeking is low. On the other hand, a Cochrane Review found conflicting evidence regarding the effect of acupuncture or related techniques on smoking cessation [60]. Owners of bars, restaurants and cafes are concerned about the ambiguity of the National Assembly and the relatively brief announcement of the ban on smoking in their establishments. They also called for smoking bans to be postponed.