These days, there are many cigarette butts and many people that smoke in the street. Nonsmokers suffered from the smell of tobacco smoke, and they really hate to smell that. In South Korea, the government had banned smoking in all bars and restaurants, and there are many no-smoking places. Also, people that smoke in the street was increased.

▲ stop smoking

Smoking is well known to people as the main cause of many diseases and cancers. Tobacco is linked to seven million deaths each year and also including 890,000 second-hand smoking. Young children also do second-hand smoking because of their parents. Although they do not smoke, their health fails because of second-hand smoking. Also, tobacco contains more than 7,000 chemicals such as tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, naphthalene, and cadmium. However, many people are unaware that tobacco is harmful to their health. The World Health Organization warned people that smoking can cause cancers, lung disease, and heart diseases.

▲ unhealthy tobacco

Secondly, the government has been trying to decrease the smoking rate. First of all, starting in January 2019, Korea increased the price of tobacco by 80 percent, from 2,500 won per pack to 4,500 won. As a result, a survey from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the sales of cigarettes in South Korea devised to 1.6 percent. Moreover, the smoking rate temporarily moved to 40.6 percent in 2016 following a huge drop due to an increase in tobacco prices, and the proportion of men who smoke dropped to 39.3 percent in 2017. In addition, The Ministry of Health and Welfare began to put warning pictures on tobaccos, and they also planned to expand no-smoking zones. Currently, the ministry plans to enlarge the size of the warning photos on tobacco more than 30 percent.

▲ warning photos on tobacco

In conclusion, many people know that cigarette is bad for their health. They are easily addicted to cigarettes if they smoke once. Therefore, the government is trying to decline the smoking rate. However, they need more efforts to let people know that smoking is worse than they thought.

October 21st, by Go Seohyun