Factors Related to Persistent Smoking after Cigarette Price Increase among Korean Adolescents: Focusing on Sex Differences

Soo Kyoung Park; Kyung Hwan Kim; Jungun Lee; Dong Ryul Lee

doi:10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.6.826

Korean J Fam Pract. 2018; 8(6): 826-833 https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.6.826

Factors Related to Persistent Smoking after Cigarette Price Increase among Korean Adolescents: Focusing on Sex Differences

Soo Kyoung Park, Kyung Hwan Kim, Jungun Lee, Dong Ryul Lee^*

Department of Family Medicine, Wonkwang University Sanbon Hospital, Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Gunpo, Korea

Dong Ryul Lee
Tel: +82-31-390-2965, Fax: +82-31-390-2266
E-mail: rednose7695@gmail.com
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7255-4561

Received: August 22, 2017; Revised: October 7, 2017; Published online: December 20, 2018.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract: Background: Epidemiological studies have reported sex differences in adolescents’ responsiveness to cigarette prices; however, few studies have suggested factors related to this. We investigated factors related to persistent smoking in Korean adolescents following the cigarette price increase of 2015 (by approximately 80% or 2.0 dollars per pack), focusing on sex differences.
Methods: This study used data from adolescent smokers from the 2015 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by middle and high school students (aged 13?18 years) following the cigarette price increase. Persistent smokers were defined as those who maintained their smoking level after the increase. Weighted logistic regression analyses based on a multi-stage complex sample design were conducted to assess factors related to persistent smoking despite the cigarette price increase.
Results: The persistent smoking rate in females was significantly higher than in males (78.7% vs. 75.4%, respectively; P<0.001). Factors related to persistent smoking in males were stress, suicidal thoughts, smoking duration, and no exposure to anti-smoking publicity (odds ratios [OR]=1.21, 1.32, 1.04, and 1.44, respectively); factors related to persistent smoking in females were stress, self-recognized obesity, and no exposure to antismoking publicity (OR=1.62, 2.28, and 1.43, respectively).
Conclusion: Sex differences were found in factors related to changes in smoking habits following the cigarette price increase among Korean adolescents. Of these, psychological factors played an important role, particularly in females. Besides the pricing policy, individualized adolescent anti-smoking programs considering various factors should be developed in Korea.; Keywords: Persistent Smoker; Persistent Smoking; Cigarette Price; Sex Differences; Adolescent

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