Smoking among women set to rise in South Korea

Although the smoking prevalence among South Korean woman is low compared to the smoking rates among women of other developed nations, there are fears that the Korean rate is going to increase, according to a story in The Korea Herald citing the results of a government study.

About 10 percent of South Korean women in their 20s are smokers, and women in this age group account for the largest portion of female smokers in South Korea; so the smoking prevalence among women of all ages is likely to rise if young females continue to smoke as they become older.

As of 2014, 4.3 percent of all Korean women aged 15 or older smoked, which was a lower rate than the average smoking prevalence for women in countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which stood at 15.7 percent. The rate in France was 20.2 percent, while that of Japan was 8.2 percent.

However, the smoking prevalence rate for Korean female teenagers, which stood at 5.7 percent, was higher than those for all age groups except those comprising women in their 20s and 30s.

Overseas studies have shown that women’s empowerment is associated with increasing women’s smoking prevalence rates, especially among young women.

The World Health Organization’s 2010 report found that in countries where women have higher empowerment, women’s smoking rates were higher than men’s, independent of the level of economic development and of the level of income inequality.