Elementary school students in Seoul will take anti-smoking classes this year for the first time as part of efforts to prevent teenage smoking, an education official was quoted as saying 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, according to Yonhap News Agency.
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 reached 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.