Seoul targets secondhand smoke

As Seoul City plans to launch a two-day campaign that would ban smoking in public locations starting today, the urgency to block secondhand smoking is being highlighted once again.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will go ahead with a campaign called "Zero secondhand smoking" around Jongno Sam-ga Station and Sadang Station from 4-8 p.m.

City officials will operate mobile non-smoking clinics for smokers and distribute brochures about the hazardous effects of secondhand or passive smoke.

This is part of Seoul City`s effort to construct a smoke-free city and attract 12 million more tourists to the city by 2010.

So far, it has prohibited smoking at all bus stops and a number of parks in Seoul - including family-oriented Seoul Grand Park and Children`s Grand Park - were named as smoke-free areas.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is also pushing measures to ban smoking at all public locations populated by teenagers, such as PC rooms and restaurants.

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"We`re currently working on devising a revised bill on health promotion by early next year, which would allow local governments to make their own decisions on designating smoke-free zones in their regions," said an official at the health promotion division at the ministry. "The bill will also seek to minimize smoking exposure among underage students."

In June, the average smoking rate for Koreans age 19 or older was 21.9 percent, according to a government report released in August. Smokers smoked an average of 17.1 cigarettes per day and said they began smoking at an average age of 21.3, it said.

More than two out of 10 adults are smokers, and exposure to secondhand smoke produces numerous side-effects like nausea, headache, dizziness, eye irritation, cough and sore throat, experts say.

It has been found that almost 30,000 Korean people die from diseases related to smoking every year.

"A smoker would see a seven-year cut in his or her life span compared to non-smokers and smoking will produce low-weight babies for mothers-to-be and sometimes cause sudden deaths for the babies," said

Baek Yoo-jin, professor at Hallym University in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.

A recent study conducted in the United States found that 11 percent of women exposed to secondhand smoke had difficulties in pregnancy and one-third of those women experienced miscarriages.

Kim Gi-deok, a 28-year-old college student, said he always felt it was unjust for non-smokers like him to take in air mixed with smoke given off by the end of a burning cigarette.

"If smokers aren`t able to do it themselves, I believe it is now time for the government to make them quit smoking in public places by force," he said.

However, smokers like Kim Sang-baek, 28, had a different point of view.

"It worries me that such campaigns like this may force the public to picture smokers in a negative light," Kim said. "Before beginning this campaign and to minimize the effects of passive smoking, I urge the government to review whether there are enough designated spots for smokers. Not only should the rights of passive smokers be protected but the rights of smokers should be considered as well."

By Cho Ji-hyun

(sharon@heraldm.com)