Nearly 70% of adolescent smokers started with flavored tobacco products, including those with mint or fruit flavors. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study has uncovered concerning patterns in the health behaviors of South Korean youth, with flavored tobacco products playing a significant role in initiating smoking habits and alcohol consumption beginning as early as middle school.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released statistics from its Youth Health Panel Survey conducted from 2019 to 2023, tracking the health behaviors of 5,051 students from sixth grade through their first year of high school.
The survey found that nearly 70% of adolescent smokers started with flavored tobacco products, including those with mint or fruit flavors. This trend has prompted calls for stronger regulations on flavored tobacco.
As students progressed through grades, their likelihood of experimenting with tobacco increased. While only 0.35% of sixth-graders reported trying cigarettes in 2019, this figure rose to 6.83% by the time they reached their first year of high school in 2023.
The use of new tobacco products, such as liquid and heated tobacco, also saw a sharp increase. The most significant jump occurred between the third year of middle school and the first year of high school, with the rate of liquid e-cigarette use rising from 1.49% to 2.60%.
Alarmingly, the study revealed a high rate of multiple product use among young smokers. Of those using heated tobacco products, 98.5% also used other forms of tobacco, with 63.5% using all three types: heated tobacco, liquid e-cigarettes, and conventional cigarettes.
The KDCA expressed particular concern about the role of liquid e-cigarettes as a gateway to conventional smoking. Over 60% of students who initially used liquid e-cigarettes reported primarily using conventional cigarettes at the time of the survey.
Alcohol consumption patterns were also examined, with the highest rate of new drinkers (15.8%) observed during the transition to the first year of middle school. Family influence played a significant role, with 48.9% of first-time drinkers citing encouragement from family members or elders as their reason for trying alcohol.
The study also highlighted deteriorating dietary habits as students progressed through school. By their first year of high school, 29% of students reported skipping breakfast at least five days a week, up from 17.9% in sixth grade. Consumption of fast food such as pizza, chicken, and hamburgers three or more times per week increased from 20.9% to 31.1%.
Conversely, daily fruit consumption dropped from 35.4% to 17.2%, and vegetable intake three or more times a day fell from 18% to 8%.
Physical activity levels also declined significantly. The percentage of students engaging in at least 60 minutes of physical activity five or more days a week decreased from 29.8% in sixth grade to 14.6% in the first year of high school.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
