Anti-smoking promotional material posted on the exterior wall of a public health center’s smoking cessation clinic. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 30, 2025 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Koreans enrolling in government-run smoking cessation clinics has halved over the past decade, while quit rates have also dropped significantly — raising concerns about waning public engagement with anti-smoking efforts.
According to new data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute, 218,589 smokers registered with local public health center clinics in 2024, down nearly 50% from the 439,971 participants in 2014.
Participation peaked at 570,000 in 2015 following a tobacco tax hike but has steadily declined since, falling sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic to 147,000 in 2021. Although numbers have partially rebounded, they remain well below pre-pandemic levels.
Success rates have dropped even more steeply. In 2014, 49.2% of participants remained smoke-free six months after declaring a quit attempt. In 2024, that rate had fallen to 33.3%, with just 69,260 individuals maintaining abstinence at the six-month mark.
This decline is part of a longer-term trend; six-month success rates have hovered in the 30% range since 2017, down from over 60% in the early 2010s.
Public Quit-Smoking Programs Struggle as Enrollment and Outcomes Deteriorate (Image supported by ChatGPT)
While South Korea’s adult smoking rate has declined from 24.2% in 2014 to 19.6% in 2024, the rate of clinic enrollment has dropped even more sharply, suggesting deeper issues. Experts cite declining public concern over smoking, perceived ineffectiveness of clinic services, and misleading marketing around e-cigarettes as contributing factors.
Efforts to quit smoking are also waning. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, only 48% of smokers in 2023 reported attempting to quit for at least 24 hours in the past year, down from 57.7% in 2016. The share of smokers planning to quit within a month dropped from 24.6% in 2014 to just 12.9% in 2023.
“Fewer smokers are motivated to quit, especially as e-cigarettes are falsely seen as safer,” said Lee Sung-kyu, director of the Korea Center for Tobacco Control and Research. He also criticized the lack of ongoing evaluation and reduced funding for cessation services as key factors behind the decline in engagement.
Funding for public cessation clinics peaked at ₩38.4 billion in 2019 but was reduced to ₩31.3 billion in 2024.
Government officials acknowledged that diversification of anti-smoking policies may have shifted smokers toward alternative programs, including insurance-backed treatment and hospital-based support centers. However, the Ministry of Health said it plans to assess the effectiveness of each initiative and reorganize the system to improve overall efficiency.
“We’re conducting a comprehensive review to restructure smoking cessation services in a more effective and integrated way,” a ministry spokesperson said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
