The number of teenage smokers has declined this year, by over 60,000 among middle and high school students, according to the latest data.

The number of students who picked up the habit was also the lowest in the last decade, according to the Ministry of Education and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the statistics released on Monday, the ministry said that the rate of teenagers who smoked in the last 30 days dropped to 7.8 percent, a 1.4 percentage point drop from last year. It was the lowest since the survey first started in 2005. The results are based on a survey conducted on 68,043 middle and high school students between June and July this year.

The CDCP attributed the drop to the increase in cigarette prices and antismoking campaigns.