[Photo] S. Korea’s smoking rate in 2017 among adult men plummets to lowest in recorded history

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, (MOHW), the smoking rate among South Korean men over 19 years old in 2017 dropped to the lowest levels ever since the government began health and nutrition surveys in 1998. The rate of adult male smokers (men who have smoked over five packs in their lifetime and continue to smoke today) was 38.1 percent in 2017, compared to 40.7 percent for the previous year. The MOHW said that national anti-smoking ad campaigns, which began in 2016, may have contributed to this decrease. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)