Korean teenage boys' smoking rate drops by two-thirds over 20 years

Smoking rates among Korean teenagers have decreased by one-third over the past 20 years, with alcohol consumption and physical activity rates also showing improvement. However, dietary and mental health indicators have deteriorated and require active attention for improvement.

These findings come from the Adolescent Health Behavior Survey 2024, released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Ministry of Education on Friday. Conducted annually since 2005, the survey assesses smoking, drinking, physical activity, and dietary habits among approximately 60,000 middle and high school students from 800 sample schools nationwide.

This year's results revealed a significant decline in smoking prevalence (the percentage of individuals who smoked on one or more days in the past 30 days) over the past 20 years. Among boys, the rate fell from 14.3 percent in 2005 to 4.8 percent in 2024, while for girls, it dropped by nearly one-third, from 8.9 percent to 2.4 percent over the same period.

The prevalence of alcohol consumption (the percentage of individuals who had one or more drinks in the past 30 days) also declined significantly over the same period, dropping from 27 percent to 11.8 percent among boys and from 26.9 percent to 7.5 percent among girls.

Physical activity participation also increased from 15.7 percent in 2005 to 25.1 percent in 2024 among boys and from 5.4 percent to 8.9 percent among girls over the same period. However, with only one in four boys and one in ten girls engaging in 60 minutes of physical activity per day, five days a week or more, there is still room for improvement.

Some adolescent health indicators have worsened, with dietary and mental health indicators generally declining.

Breakfast skipping rates increased from 26.4percent in 2005 to 40.2percent in 2024 for boys and from 28.0percent to 44.7percent for girls over the same period, marking nearly a 1.5-fold increase for both sexes. Breakfast skipping rates were higher among high school students than middle school students, with the largest increase observed among female middle school students over the 20-year period.

Mental health indicators for adolescents also worsened this year compared to previous years. In 2024, 23.1percent of boys and 32.5percent of girls reported experiencing depression, an increase of 1.7 percentage points for boys and 1.6 percentage points for girls compared to 2023.

Perceived stress also increased for all students, regardless of gender. Boys' perceived stress rose from 30.8percent to 35.2percent in 2024, while girls' perceived stress increased from 44.2percent to 49.9percent over the same period.

Average weekday sleep duration was 6.5 hours for boys and 5.9 hours for girls in 2024, similar to 2023. However, the subjective sleep satisfaction rate decreased, with 27.1percent of boys and 16.5percent of girls reporting satisfaction, a drop of 3.5 percentage points for boys and 4.7 percentage points for girls compared to the previous year.

“Looking at the results of the survey, physical activity, which declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, is on the rise, and smoking and drinking rates are steadily decreasing, while mental health and diet appear to need more attention and support,” said Minister of Education Lee Joo-ho.