SEOUL, KOREA - A study said that about two out of ten Seoul citizens over the age of 20 smoke more than 14.6 cigarettes a day. Comparing to ten years ago, the percentage of male smokers has declined while that for female counterparts has rising. The Seoul Institute, a policy think tank working for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said on May 21 that the ratio of smokers among Seoul citizens in 2012 was 23.0 percent, 5.6 percentage points lower than in 2003. During the same time, the average number of cigarettes smoked daily has declined to 14.6 from 15.2.
The male smoking ratio fell to 42.7 percent last year from 54.7 percent in 2003. The number of cigarettes consumed by male smokers was 15.0 last year from 15.5 in 2003. In contrast, the percentage of women smokers has increased to 4.7 percent from 3.8 percent during the same period. The daily average number of cigarettes consumed by women smokers has also increased to 11.3 from 10.7.
The smoking ratio among Seoul citizens was 1 percentage point lower than the national average of 24.0 percent. The ratio of male smokers in Seoul was 2.2 percentage points lower than the national average of 44.9 percent while that for female smokers in Seoul was 0.7 percentage point higher than the national average (4.0%).
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