Using the temporary fencing for anti-smoking efforts has been a budget-friendly venture, officials said. (image: Yonhap)
HOENGSEONG, South Korea, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province, has been using hundreds of meters of temporary fencing built around construction sites to promote anti-smoking campaigns.
The posters attached to the fencing range from slogans like “quitting smoking, the beginning of love for family,” to more fact-driven information like “quitting smoking can reduce lung cancer risks by six times,” and “cigarette smoke contains roughly 7,000 toxic chemicals”.
So far, two construction sites for new apartment complexes have decided to let the county use their fencing for the project.
According to county officials, Hoengseong has been undergoing active urban development, thanks to the new Yeongdong Expressway built last November, and has several construction projects ongoing across the county. Using the temporary fencing for anti-smoking efforts has been a budget-friendly venture, officials said.
Hoengseong has been active in promoting anti-smoking campaigns for its residents.
Last year, 4,026 individuals visited the county’s smoking cessation clinics, 655 of whom decided to register for a program to help them quit. A total of 246 successfully stopped smoking for at least six months, giving the centers a 37.6 percent success rate, which was higher than the 36.5 percent reported in 2015.
Anti-smoking projects in the county include designating smoke-free villages, operating smoke-free cabs, and the installation at bus stops of no-smoking signs and bells – which when pressed, play a reminder alert that smoking near bus stops is prohibited, allowing those waiting for the bus to avoid awkward confrontations with smokers.
In 2016, Hoengseong offered musical performances and art classes to minors in order to educate them on the harm of cigarettes, while this year, it plans to establish five smoke-free senior citizen centers.
“We will continue to promote the health of our county’s residents and prevent negative health effects from secondhand smoking through our campaigns,” said a county official. “Our goal is to make Hoengseong a secondhand smoke-free county.”
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
