Smoking Among Korean Men in Their 30s Plummets as E-Cigarettes Become the Main Substitute

Oct.09

KDCA reports cigarette smoking among Korean men in their 30s fell from 48% (2015) to 28.5% (2024). Including e-cigarettes, overall use was 40.1% in 2024—just 4.9 points below 2019—suggesting a shift to alternatives.

Key Takeaways:

· Among men in their 30s, the cigarette smoking rate fell to 28.5% over nine years, down 19.5 percentage points from 2015.

· When e-cigarettes are included, overall tobacco use among men in their 30s declined just 4.9 points from 2019 to 40.1% in 2024, indicating rising adoption of alternatives like e-cigarettes that partially offset the drop in cigarette smoking.

· By age group, cigarette smoking fell 16.1 points among men aged 19–29 and 8.9 points among those in their 40s, while no significant change was seen among men in their 50s to 70s.

2Firsts, October 9, 2025 — Citing an October 9 report by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s annual government survey shows that the cigarette smoking rate among men in their 30s has fallen by 19.5 percentage points over the past nine years. Meanwhile, when e-cigarettes are factored in, the decline in overall tobacco use is more moderate, pointing to a trend of increased use of alternative products.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) annual nationwide survey, the cigarette smoking rate among men in their 30s stood at 28.5% in 2024, down from 48% in 2015. Over the same period, the rate fell by 16.1 points among men aged 19–29 and 8.9 points among men in their 40s, while no significant changes were observed among those in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

When alternative products such as e-cigarettes are included, the change in overall tobacco use is more gradual. For men in their 30s, the figure was 40.1% in 2024, just 4.9 points lower than when KDCA began releasing related data in 2019; among men aged 19–29, it fell 10.5 points over the same period. The report notes that, compared with the marked decline in cigarette smoking, the smaller drop in overall tobacco use likely reflects increasing uptake of e-cigarettes and other alternatives.

Cover image credit: The Korea Bizwire

References:

[1] Cigarette Smoking Plummets Among Korean Men in Their 30s, but E-Cigarette Use Rises

Also Read:

[1] South Korean convenience store GS25 and KT&G jointly released a new heated tobacco product, which will be available starting in October

[2] KT&G launches the LIL AIBLE 2.0 PLUS heated tobacco device, featuring fast charging and a new "REAL RIMO" cartridge

[3] South Korea's National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee passed a revised bill for the Tobacco Act, which includes synthetic nicotine in the tobacco category

[4] British American Tobacco is launching a promotion in South Korea, with the first-time purchase price of glo Hyper Pro being approximately US$20

[5] Philip Morris Korea Launches IQOS ILUMA Capsule Stick “TEREA Riviera Pearl,” Unveils New Packaging Design

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