Prevalence of Hardcore Smoking and Its Associated Factors in Korea

Abstract

Data from 1,241 Korean current smokers aged over 26 from the sample used in the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used in this study. Among the current smokers, 25.5% were hard core smokers (male 27.7%, female 10.7%). A simple logistic regression analysis showed the following factors to be significantly related to hardcore smoking: gender (male vs. female OR=3.20), employment status (yes vs. no OR=1.45), alcohol problem (yes vs. no OR=1.47), age of smoking initiation (＜19 vs. ?26 OR=2.40, 19~25 vs. ?26 OR=1.72), duration of smoking (10~29 years vs. ＜10 OR=2.03, ?30 vs. ＜10 OR=2.62), amount of smoking (20~29 cigarettes/day vs. ?19 OR=6.49, ?30 vs. ?19 OR=9.22), and anti-smoking education (no vs. yes OR=1.67). However, a multiple logistic regression analysis showed that only the amount of smoking (20~29 cigarettes/day vs. ?19 OR=6.26, ?30 vs. ?19 OR=8.50) and anti-smoking education (no vs. yes OR=1.89) were significantly associated with hardcore smoking. In conclusion, hardcore smokers are more likely to be male, be employed, and have alcohol problems. They also are more likely to have started smoking at a younger age, have smoked for a longer time, and smoke more, and are less likely to report receiving anti-smoking education. Therefore, to reduce the smoking rate, the Korean government should not only prevent adolescents from smoking but also focus on policies for hardcore smokers.