The smoking rate among women in South Korea is likely to be nearly triple the official figure of 6.4 percent, due to under-reporting, according to a story in The Korea Bizwire quoting a health expert.
In 2016, smoking rates in South Korea were ‘measured’ at 40.7 percent for men and 6.4 percent for women.
But Jeong Geum-ji of Yonsei University’s graduate school of public health said the difference in the incidence of lung cancer among men and women was narrower than that in respect of the smoking rate. In 2015, for example, 17,015 men and 7,252 women were newly diagnosed with lung cancer; so 2.4 times more men than women.
“If the smoking rate for men is 6.4 times higher than that for women, then it would be reasonable for the lung cancer incidence rate to also be 6.4 times higher,” Jeong was quoted as saying in a report submitted to a parliamentary forum. “However, the difference stopped at 2.4 times.”
The report said that, on the assumption that there were no genetic conditions at play in the occurrence of lung cancer, given the incidence rate, the smoking rate for women was probably more like 17.3 percent.
Tag: South Korea
Estimating backwards
HNB probe results due
South Korea’s health authorities have indicated that they will announce this month the findings of their investigation into whether heat-not-burn (HNB) products deliver potentially harmful substances.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would make its announcement before June 13.
The ministry launched its investigation in August into three HNB devices – Philip Morris Korea’s IQOS, British American Tobacco’s Glo, and KT&G’s lil.
‘The investigation is focused on the amount of harmful chemicals such as nicotine and tar released in e-cigarettes,’ the story said.Local Heets to go on sale
Philip Morris Korea said on Wednesday that locally-produced tobacco sticks for its heated-tobacco devices would be on the shelves of South Korea’s stores ‘within the year’, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.
The company said Heets would be produced at its factory in Yangsan, 420 km southeast of Seoul. The factory would be the first facility in Asia to manufacture tobacco sticks for IQOS.
In December, PM Korea said it planned to invest US$420 million by 2019 to expand its local facilities and hire 700 new employees.
The story said that increasing numbers of South Korean smokers were switching to smoke-free products following the launch of IQOS on the domestic market in June 2017.
The share of Heets on the all-cigarettes market was reportedly 7.3 percent during the first quarter of the year, placing it within the top five tobacco brands in the country.
“I am pleased to see that our vision to replace cigarettes with science-based smoke-free products is becoming a reality in Korea at an unprecedented speed,” said Chong Il-woo, PM Korea’s MD, during a press conference in Seoul.
But all is not well. The company expressed concern after the government unveiled its plan to adopt pictorial health warnings for heated-tobacco products, starting at the end of the year.
“The proposed warnings are inappropriate and misleading; not only would they confuse current heated-tobacco product users, but they would also have a negative impact on those adult smokers considering switching to better alternatives,” said Nikolaus Ricketts, director of Reduced Risk Products.Impulsive behavior
One in eight people in South Korea buy cigarettes on impulse after seeing cigarette advertisements or cigarette packs on display at convenience stores, according to a story in The Korea Bizwire citing the results of a new study.
The study showed also that 1.9 percent of non-smokers purchased cigarettes on impulse.
The study, carried out by Professor Cho Seong-il and his team at Seoul National University, surveyed 1,047 young people and adults at five convenience stores in the Gangnam region of Seoul.
Of the respondents, 12.9 percent said they had bought cigarettes on impulse after seeing a cigarette advertisement at a convenience store or cigarette displays shelves.
The study showed also that the higher the number of visits by respondents to convenience stores, the higher the chance of them buying cigarettes impulsively.
People who visited convenience stores five times a week on average were found to be 12.4 times more likely to make impulsive purchases than those whose visits numbered just once or twice a week.
“The results that show a significant number of impulsive purchases of cigarettes signify that ads and product placement can affect purchasing patterns regardless of whether one is a smoker or not,” said Cho.
The story said that, in contrast to tobacco producers’ claims that advertisements and product placements simply provided information to consumers, the study had confirmed that advertisements and products actually facilitated the sales of cigarettes.HNB market heats up
KT&G said today it would put a new heat-not-burn (HNB) product on the South Korean market next week, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.
The product, called lil plus, will be in stores on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the debut of HNB products on the local market.
Phillip Morris launched IQOS in South Korea one year ago and the company plans to host a media day to mark the anniversary.
KT&G said its choice of roll-out day for the new product was unrelated to the first anniversary of the local launch of IQOS, but industry watchers noted that KT&G had originally been expected to release the new product in June or July.
The story said the launch of the new product appeared designed to take advantage of the need for consumers to replace HNB devices. KT&G was quoted as saying that HNB devices should be replaced after about a year; so the replacement demand within the next three months was estimated at more than 500,000.
Meanwhile, industry leader Phillip Morris and British American Tobacco, which sells the glo device, are said to be poised to roll out next-generation products with improved functions, though their launch dates are yet to be announced.
Currently, HNB products account for about 10 percent of all tobacco sales in South Korea, a figure that is expected to reach 30 percent in 2020.
The story said that while tobacco companies did not disclose their shares of the HNB products market, IQOS was estimated to account for 50-60 percent, with lil and glo making up the rest.
According to data from the government and industry sources, 163 million 20-piece packs of HNB products were sold in South Korea between May 2017 and March 2018.Opting for quit-or-die
The government of South Korea is changing the health warnings required on packages of combustible cigarettes and heat-not-burn (HNB) products, according to a story by Lee Kyung-min for the Korea Times.
The change will be most pronounced in the case of HNB products, whose packs previously carried an image of what the story described as a needle but that looked more like a syringe. The image was said by many to be unclear and ineffective.
From December, manufacturers of HNB products will be required in include on their packs graphic warnings about health risks associated with smoking, including cancer, similar to the warnings carried by packs of combustible cigarettes.
The Times said the government planned to dispel the idea that HNB products were less harmful [than were combustible cigarettes] and therefore should remain exempt from stringent health policy.
‘HNB-produced smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, of which more than 70 are carcinogenic substances, known to cause, initiate or exacerbate cancer,’ the Times reported.
‘According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all forms of tobacco use are harmful, including HNBs.’
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare unveiled a set of new graphic warnings with more ‘disturbing’ messages than those currently used.
The new warnings must replace the current ones by December 23.
The introduction of the new measures followed what was described as ‘a one-year in-depth deliberation commissioned by a 13-member special committee comprised of government officials and private experts’. A survey of 1,500 smokers and non-smokers was said to have been conducted to reflect public opinion.
According to data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, HNB products accounted for eight percent of the South Korean cigarette market in January, up from three percent seven months earlier.Preconceived flavors
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has revealed plans to regulate the flavoring of cigarettes, according to a story in The Korea Bizwire.
The Ministry says it will be working alongside other ministries, such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, to pass three bills that would ban or limit flavored cigarettes.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a study of cigarettes carried out by Professor Shin Hosang of Kongju National University in 2016 and 2017 had shown that they contained between two and 28 flavorings.
Meanwhile, professor Kim Huijin, of Yonsei University, reportedly said that 65 percent of 9,063 people between the ages of 13 to 39 who participated in an online survey consumed flavored cigarettes.
Those whose first cigarettes were flavored were said to be 1.4 times more likely to become regular smokers than those who started with cigarettes with no added flavors.
And more than 70 percent of smokers were said to have indicated that the flavor of their cigarettes of choice was an influential factor in trying them for the first time.
The story said that menthol, one of the ingredients used to produce a minty flavor, was known to numb the nerves and minimize the stimulation that users felt when inhaling smoke.
‘As smokers inhale other dangerous substances in cigarettes such as nicotine, the chances of becoming addicted and being exposed to cancer escalates,’ the story said. ‘Theobromine, an ingredient found in cocoa, expands the bronchus allowing nicotine to be absorbed in the lungs.’Bans imposed
South Korean health authorities have announced plans to ban tobacco smoking at all cafés across the country from July, according to a story in The Korea Bizwire.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is said to be set to pass an amendment to the National Health Promotion Act by the end of next month.
However, the ministry has said it will take into consideration public opinions submitted by May 30 before finalizing the reform bill.
Under the revised act, smoking would be banned even at cafés that now have smoking areas.
The new rule is scheduled to take effect in July in respect of cafés with floor areas bigger than 75 square meters.
Smaller establishments would be subject to the same rule from next year.
Currently, there are 30 smoking cafés across South Korea, with 13 of them located in Seoul and the surrounding area.
The amendment includes also a smoking ban in the vicinity of kindergartens and day-care centers, of which there are nearly 50,000.
The smoking rate among South Korean men aged 19 or older fell last year to below 40 percent for the first time, according to a survey released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month.Exports plunge
Exports of cigarettes from South Korea plunged during the first quarter of this year, according to a story in The Korea Herald citing figures published yesterday by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The value of the country’s cigarette exports from January to March, at $210.6 million, was said to have been down by 28.3 percent on that of the same period of last year.
The exports were hit hard by the imposition of a 100 percent special consumption tax on cigarettes in the United Arab Emirates, which is Korea’s largest overseas customer for cigarettes.
In October, the UAE imposed sin taxes on tobacco, soda and energy drinks, partly as a way of lowering its rates of obesity and diabetes, and to limit the consumption of addictive substances.
The UAE additionally imposed a five percent value-added tax on cigarettes in January.
Taken together, the new taxes caused the retail prices of Korean cigarettes to double.
With Saudi Arabia having imposed a ‘sin’ tax on cigarettes before the UAE did, and with other countries in the Gulf Co-operation Council set to follow suit this year, Korean cigarette exports are forecast to fall further.Smoking incidence falls
The smoking rate among South Korean men aged 19 or older fell last year to below 40 percent; the first time that it has fallen this low, according to a Yonhap News Agency story citing the results of a survey published on Wednesday.
The survey by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the proportion of men who smoke stood at 39.3 percent in 2017, down by 1.3 percentage points on that of the previous year.
The survey was conducted among 228,381 adults.
The smoking rate has generally fallen steadily since 2008, when it stood at 47.8 percent, to 2015, when it stood at 40.6 percent.
The rate moved up to 40.7 percent in 2016 following a drop a year earlier due to a hike in cigarette prices.
In January 2015, South Korea increased the price of cigarettes by 80 percent, from 2,500 won (US$2.25) per pack to 4,500 won.
In 2016, the government required tobacco companies to include graphic warnings on 30 percent of the upper parts of both of the main faces of cigarette packs.
