The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has opened a research center to study the ingredients in cigarettes, their addictiveness and their risk on health. (Image : Kobizmdeia / Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov.27 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has opened a research center to study the ingredients in cigarettes, their addictiveness and their risk on health.
Located at the KCDC complex in Osong, Chungbuk Province, the research center will analyze the components of cigarettes and their fumes, usage among smokers, levels of exposure to toxins, and their influence on health.
Toxins that cause cancer, cardiovascular disorders and respiratory disease are being studied through an analysis of the components of cigarettes. Additional substances that strengthen preference and addictiveness, knowing traits of people who are weak in quitting smoking, and smoking habits will also be studied.
Using biomarkers to measure the changes the human body goes through when it is exposed to smoking, the level of exposure among different individuals will be monitored. Through the data, smoking risks as well as social and economic burdens will be measured.
The lab will function as a center that measures the ingredients in cigarettes, and shares the information with the public, according to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the WTO.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control mandates that each country have an independent laboratory, as cigarette companies are usually reluctant to release data related to the chemical composition of their cigarettes, and the influences that their products have on those that make use of them.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
