Adolescents First Try Alcohol in Middle School, Cigarettes in High School: "Prevention Education Needed"

Youth Health Panel Survey by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
Annual Tracking of the Same Group of 5,051 Adolescents

A recent survey has found that the period during which Korean adolescents are most likely to try cigarettes for the first time is when they enter the first year of high school. In contrast, the first experience with alcohol occurs even earlier, during the transition to the first year of middle school.

On April 19, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced the results of its analysis of the Youth Health Panel Survey conducted from 2019 to 2024. This survey tracked 5,051 students who were in the sixth grade of elementary school in 2019, following changes in their health behaviors each year up to their second year of high school. The Youth Health Panel Survey is a project that annually tracks the same group from the sixth grade of elementary school for ten years, aiming to identify changes in health behaviors and their preceding factors.

No Smoking Sign

The survey on smoking focused on three types of tobacco products—conventional cigarettes, liquid-type e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products—tracking annual new usage rates and current usage rates. The results showed that the highest annual new usage rate for all tobacco products occurred during the transition from the third year of middle school to the first year of high school at 3.29% (4.31% for male students and 2.25% for female students). This rate dropped slightly to 3.22% in the second year of high school.

By school year, the annual new usage rates were 0.29% when entering the first year of middle school, 1.34% when advancing to the second year, 2.38% when entering the third year, 3.29% when entering the first year of high school, and 3.22% when advancing to the second year of high school.

The initiation of drinking occurred earlier than smoking. The percentage of students who had their first experience with alcohol was highest at 15.6% during the transition to the first year of middle school. The rates were 12.6% when advancing to the second year of middle school, 12.6% for the third year, 13.5% when entering the first year of high school, and 13.1% for the second year of high school, consistently remaining in the 12-13% range.

The research team that analyzed the Youth Health Panel Survey stated, "These results indicate that the late middle school to early high school period is a critical time for interventions aimed at preventing tobacco product use," and emphasized, "There is a need to intensify school-based smoking prevention education as well as educational programs for parents and guardians."

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