Seoul to expand anti-smoking program to elementary schools

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- Elementary school students in Seoul will take
anti-smoking classes this year for the first time as part of efforts by
authorities to prevent teenage smoking, an education official said Monday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said that it will this week select a
total of 80 elementary, middle and high schools in which teachers and counselors
will carry out an intensive anti-smoking education program.
The so-called anti-smoking pilot schools will include 24 elementary schools in
Seoul.
It is the first time that elementary schools have been designated as a venue for
such campaign. Officials said the decision reflects concerns that the age of
first-time smokers is gradually falling.
Last year, only middle and high schools were designated as venues of special
anti-smoking programs, they noted.
The designated schools will receive state subsidies from the health ministry and
start a special educational program to encourage students to quit smoking and
deter potential smokers. Students who smoke will be given advice from counselors
and treated with acupuncture at nearby clinics.
According to a survey of 80,000 secondary students by the government's disease
control center, the percentage of male middle school students who smoke rose to
11.3 percent in 2007 from 9.6 percent in 2005. The corresponding rate for female
middle school students edged from 6.3 percent to 6.6 percent.
In particular, the smoking rates for male and female middle school first graders
turned out to stand at 6.5 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
The smoking rates for male and female high school students totaled 24.3 percent
and 11.3 percent, respectively, as of 2007. The nation's overall smoking rate
stood at 21.9 percent last year, according to the health ministry.
brk@yna.co.kr
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