Under the National Health Promotion Act, those who smoke liquid-type e-cigarettes in non-smoking areas can be fined. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent survey showed that 8 in 10 South Korean liquid-type e-cigarette users said they had smoked stealthily in non-smoking areas.
Under the National Health Promotion Act, those who smoke liquid-type e-cigarettes in non-smoking areas can be fined, just like for smoking conventional tobacco cigarettes.
A research team from the Asan Medical Center conducted a survey of 7,000 men and women between 20 and 69 years of age. Of the total, the number of people who had used liquid-type e-cigarettes in the previous month stood at 394.
Among liquid-type e-cigarette users, 44.6 percent between 20 and 34 years old, while men accounted for 74.1 percent of the total.
At 83.5 percent, the vast majority of liquid-type e-cigarette users said they had smoked in non-smoking areas, dwarfing the 16.5 percent who said they had no such experience.
By type of areas, home indoors accounted for the largest share at 46.9 percent, followed by private cars at 36.9 percent and outdoor non-smoking areas at 28.3 percent.
Men and women accounted for 44 percent and 55.6 percent of the stealthy users, respectively, indicating that more than half of female liquid-type e-cigarette users are smoking stealthily at homes.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
