K-Herald

Girls Less Likely to Quit Smoking Than Boys

by 조선편집국 posted Nov 16, 2016

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Teenage girls find it harder to quit smoking than their male counterparts, according to a recent study.

A team of researchers at the Daegu Medical Center analyzed 2015 adolescent health data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Out of the 7,118 middle and high schoolkids with an experience of smoking, only 27.9 percent, or 1,987, said they either reduced the amount of smoking or quit smoking after the price of cigarettes were raised last year.

On the other hand, 72.1 percent said their smoking amount has not changed or increased. More girls carried on their habit even after the price hike at 78.4 percent compared to boys at 70.3 percent.

The smoking rate of middle and high schoolkids in 2015 was 7.8 percent -- 11.9 percent among boys and 3.2 percent among girls -- according to the Ministry of Education.

The team also discovered that youngsters who had no exposure to anti-smoking ads were 1.5 times more likely to continue to smoke than those who came across them. Also, they were 1.2 times more likely to keep their habit when they did not receive any education on the harmfulness of smoking.

Stress and depression were also found to make kids some 1.4 and 1.1 times more likely to continue smoking.

Money is another factor. Among those who received more than W100,000 in weekly allowance 76.2 percent kept smoking, compared to 71.7 percent among those who received less than W50,000.

The study shows the need to boost anti-smoking campaigns and education in order to make smoking less desirable for youngsters.