South Korea is set to advocate for the reduction of smoking depictions in online video services such as YouTube and Netflix. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea is set to advocate for the reduction of smoking depictions in online video services such as YouTube and Netflix at the upcoming World Health Organization (WHO) conference.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its participation in the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), taking place in Panama from February 5 to 11.
During the conference, the South Korean delegation plans to urge the FCTC Secretariat and member states to pay attention to and reduce the portrayal of tobacco and smoking scenes in content shown on video streaming platforms.
The delegation will also emphasize the need for a joint response to the challenges surrounding tobacco control, such as the increase in tobacco advertising and marketing through multinational media platforms and the introduction of new tobacco products.
Furthermore, the South Korean government will showcase its key achievements in tobacco control policies, including the expansion of tobacco-free zones around childcare centers, kindergartens, and schools, the establishment of smoking prevention media guidelines, the enactment of laws for the management of harmful substances in tobacco, and the reduction in adult smoking rates.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea’s adult smoking rate decreased from 35.1% in 1998 to 17.7% in 2022.
Jeong Yeon-hee, the director of the Division of Health Promotion at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the head of the South Korean delegation, stated, “We plan to share the successes of our tobacco control policies with the international community in detail, and carefully consider the discussions at the conference to further strengthen our domestic anti-smoking policies.”
The FCTC is the first international health treaty aimed at reducing tobacco consumption and smoking rates worldwide. It came into effect in 2005, with South Korea ratifying it the same year. Currently, 183 countries are parties to the treaty.
The Conference of Parties to the FCTC is a biennial international meeting, and this year’s conference marks the first in-person session in five years.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
