Prevalence of tobacco use
Tobacco market situation in South Korea
Korea has maintained a cigarette-dominated market where the sales volume of conventional cigarettes contributed more than 99% of the total sales of tobacco products until 2016. Although the situation has changed since the launch of heated tobacco products(HTPs) in 2017, still Therefore, tobacco use in Korea in general means conventional cigarette smoking.
Cigarette sales volume in Korea from 2014 to 2020
Domestic cigarette sales in Korea continued to decline since the tobacco price increase in 2015, but in 2020, there was an increase in sales of 5% compared to the previous year.
* Source: Ministry of Economy and Finance (2023)
Sales ratio by tobacco product from 2017 to 2025
The market share of HTPs is expected to continue to increase in domestic tobacco market (among cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and HTPs).
- 2017 E-Cigarettes 0.6/ Heated Tobacco Products 3.0/ Cigarettes 96.4
- 2018 E-Cigarettes 0.6/ Heated Tobacco Products 10.3/ Cigarettes 89.1
- 2019 E-Cigarettes 0.9/ Heated Tobacco Products 10.9/ Cigarettes 88.2
- 2020 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 11.0/ Cigarettes 88.5
- 2021 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 12.4/ Cigarettes 87.1
- 2022 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 14.6/ Cigarettes 84.9
- 2023 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 15.1/ Cigarettes 84.4
- 2024 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 16.5/ Cigarettes 83.0
- 2025 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 17.1/ Cigarettes 82.4
- 2026 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 18.0/ Cigarettes 81.5
- 2027 E-Cigarettes 0.5/ Heated Tobacco Products 18.8/ Cigarettes 80.7
* Source: Euromonitor International (2023)
※ Results for 2022 and beyond are estimates.
Prevalence of cigarette smoking
Cigarette smoking rate of adults (19 years old and older)
Enforcement of strong tobacco controls in recent years has led to a significant decrease in the smoking rates of male adults, from over 47.3% in the 2011 to 31.3% in 2021. The prevalence of male smokers has dropped considerably, but it is still high compared to other OECD member, ranking fifth.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 27.1 | 25.8 | 24.1 | 24.2 | 22.6 | 23.9 | 22.3 | 22.4 | 21.5 | 20.6 | 19.3 |
| Male | 47.3 | 43.7 | 42.2 | 43.2 | 39.4 | 40.7 | 38.1 | 36.7 | 35.7 | 34.0 | 31.3 |
| Female | 6.8 | 7.9 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.9 |
- Definition: Current smoking rate - the proportion of those who have smoked five packs of tobacco or more (100 cigarettes) during life and currently smoke cigarette.
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005.
* Source: Korea National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)
Cigarette smoking rate of adolescent (13 – 18 years old)
Smoking among youth has also experienced significant reduction last 10 years. However, recent stagnation in youth smoking and more importantly a sign of smoking increase among girls needs to be closely monitored.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 11.4 | 9.7 | 9.2 | 7.8 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Male | 16.3 | 14.4 | 14.0 | 11.9 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.2 |
| Female | 5.9 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 2.7 |
- Definition: Current smoking rate - the proportion of those who have smoked a day or longer within recent 30 days
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005.
* Source: Youth Health Behavior Online Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)
Prevalence of e-cigarette & HTPs use
E-cigarette use rate of adults (19 years old and older)
Pre-emptive approaches to regulating novel tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), in the same way as conventional cigarettes have curtailed the prevalence of male adults using e-cigarettes less than 5%. The decrease in EC usage since 2019 could be attributed to the EVALI crisis from the United States or the separate investigation of HTP starting from 2019.
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1.1 | 2.4 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| Male | 2.0 | 4.4 | 7.1 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 7.1 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.0 |
| Female | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
- Definition: Current e-cigarette users - the proportion of those who have used e-cigarette in past 30 days
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005.
* Source: Korea National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)
HTP use rate of adults (19 years old and older)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 6.2 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| Male | 10.3 | 8.4 | 7.3 |
| Female | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
- Definition: Current HTP users - the proportion of those who have used heated tobacco product in past 30 days
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005.
* Source: Korea National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)
E-cigarette use rate of adolescent (13 – 18 years old)
Despite of strong preventive measures, e-cigarette use among young population has been stagnated recently. What is worse is that the e-cigarette use rate among youth is similar to that of adult population.
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 3.7 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
| Male | 5.8 | 4.7 | 8.1 | 6.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
| Female | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
- Definition: Current e-cigarette use rate - the proportion of those who have used e-cigarette in past 30 days
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005.
* Source: Youth Health Behavior Online Survey (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)
HTP use rate of adolescent (13 – 18 years old)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.3 |
| Boy | 4.0 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Girl | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
- Definition: Current HTP users - the proportion of those who have used heated tobacco product in past 30 days
- Age-standardized with estimated population in 2005
A comprehensive system for monitoring tobacco use is necessary with different types of tobacco products being introduced such as HTPs and ENDS, and usage patterns changing. Accordingly, tobacco use prevention measures must be established.
