A new study shows that people who were exposed to secondhand smoke were almost twice as likely to be smokers compared to those were weren’t. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan.4 (Korea Bizwire) – A new study shows that people who were exposed to secondhand smoke were almost twice as likely to be smokers compared to those were weren’t.
Professor Kang Dae-hee and his research team at Seoul National University arrived at the results after studying the smoking patterns of 24,490 adult males between the ages of 40 and 69 from 2004 to 2008. The team published the results of their study in the recent issue of PLOS ONE, an international journal issued by the Public Library of Science.
According to the paper, excluding all the factors that influence smoking, being exposed to secondhand smoke elevated the possibility of an individual becoming a smoker by a factor of 1.9 times.
The research team suggested that because those who are exposed to smoking from an early age have fewer reservations about smoking, they are bound to be more likely to smoke. The team also postulated that those who were exposed to secondhand smoke have more difficulty in quitting smoking.
On the other hand, those who succeeded at giving up drinking were 2.5 times more likely to succeed at quitting smoking, and 48 percent of those who cut out alcohol had also quit smoking 30 years later.
Other factors contributing to success in giving up smoking were marriage (1.6 times), white collar jobs (1.2 times) and higher education levels (1.6 times).
The success rate was higher among those who were born after 1960 than those who were born before. Because the elderly started smoking at an earlier age compared to the younger generation, and continued to smoke for a longer period of time, it was harder for them to quit.
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)
