E-cigarettes, including liquid-type devices, are displayed at a vape shop in Seoul, April 24. YonhapThe use of heated tobacco products has nearly doubled since records began in 2019, even as overall tobacco use has not declined with fewer smokers attempting to quit.The findings, released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on World No Tobacco Day on Sunday, show that e-cigarettes have partially replaced conventional cigarettes without reducing overall tobacco use. The agency based its report on last year's annual Community Health Survey, which tracks the health behaviors of approximately 230,000 adults aged 19 and older nationwide. The smoking rate for conventional cigarettes stood at 17.9 percent last year, down 1 percentage point from 2024, while usage of heated tobacco products rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.3 percent and liquid e-cigarettes climbed 0.5 percentage points to 4.5 percent. Since records began in 2019, the heated tobacco product usage rate has nearly doubled from 3.3 percent, while liquid e-cigarette usage surged 73.1 percent from 2.6 percent.The quit attempt rate fell from 46.8 percent in 2020 to 40.6 percent last year. Of overall tobacco product usage, which stood at 22.1 percent, conventional cigarettes accounted for the largest share at 62.1 percent, followed by dual or multiple product use at 21.3 percent, heated tobacco products at 9.9 percent and liquid e-cigarettes at 6.7 percent.Heated tobacco product usage increased most pronouncedly among those in their 20s, rising from 4.3 percent in 2019 to 8.8 percent last year, a 104.7 percent increase. By gender, women saw a sharper rise with the rate surging 180 percent over the same period from 0.5 percent to 1.4 percent, outpacing men whose rate rose from 5.9 percent to 9 percent.“Local governments and relevant agencies should establish comprehensive smoking cessation policies that cover e-cigarettes, and pursue region-specific health policies that reflect the characteristics of different sexes, age groups and tobacco product types,” said KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-kwan said. “The agency will also provide support to ensure that related policies take root on the ground.”