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Smoking and drinking among Korean adolescents rose sharply from sixth grade through the final year of high school, according to new government data highlighting a steady decline in healthy habits as students grow older.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency released findings Monday from its Korean Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey, which has tracked a panel of 5,051 students who were sixth graders in 2019 for a 10-year period through 2028 to study behavioral changes and their contributing factors.
Monday's release, covering the 2019-2025 period, drew on 3,756 students and compiled cumulative statistics on smoking, drinking and eating habits.
The data showed a sharp rise in tobacco product use as students advanced through school. The share of students who had ever used a tobacco product rose to 11.93 percent by their final year of high school from 0.35 percent in sixth grade, up 11.58 percentage points over six years.
