Jeon Byeong-ju, Seoul City Council Member, "School and Community-linked Smoking Prevention Must Continue"

School Smoking Prevention Project Emphasizes Role as Driving Force in Reducing Youth Smoking Rates in Seoul Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jeon Byeong-ju, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Democratic Party, Gwangjin 1), attended the ‘School Smoking Prevention Policy Forum’ held at the School Health Promotion Institute on the 20th and emphasized the importance of smoking cessation education projects in the Seoul area.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has been promoting the ‘1st Phase School Smoking Prevention Project’ for five years since 2016, and has taken a leading role in school smoking prevention by opening and operating the ‘School Smoking Prevention Support Center’ within the School Health Promotion Institute, the first among all metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide.

The forum, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and organized by the School Health Promotion Institute, was attended by Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, Director Park Sang-geun, and experts from various fields. It was a venue to reflect on the achievements and issues of the ‘1st Phase School Smoking Prevention Project’ and discuss future development directions for the 2nd phase. The event proceeded in the order of keynote presentations, comprehensive discussions, and Q&A sessions, and was broadcast live through the official YouTube channel.

Assemblyman Jeon stated, “The issue of youth smoking is closely related to student health and human rights, and all students must be guaranteed the right to grow up in a healthy and safe educational environment,” adding, “Smoking prevention and cessation projects linked between schools and local communities must be continuously implemented.”

According to Assemblyman Jeon, the smoking rate among Seoul youth was 5.7% as of 2019, which is 1.0% lower than the national average of 6.7% (9.3% for male students, 3.8% for female students), ranking second lowest among the 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education nationwide.

In response, Assemblyman Jeon praised, “The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s school smoking prevention project has played a driving role in lowering the smoking rate,” and expressed hope that “it will fulfill its role and responsibility to promote student health and create a smoke-free environment through systematic support activities.”

He continued, “The Seoul Metropolitan Council’s Education Committee will also create an opportunity to categorize and promote the sustainable development of smoking prevention projects,” adding, “The 2nd phase project requires feedback on policy directions that can effectively protect youth from new types of tobacco products.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.