Patterns of cigarette, heated tobacco product, and nicotine vaping product use among Korean adults: Findings from the 2020 ITC Korea Survey

Sungkyu Lee; Steve S Xu; Mi Yan; Shannon Gravely; Anne C K Quah; Hong Gwan Seo; Sujin Lim; Sung-Il Cho; Yeol Kim; Geoffrey T Fong

doi:10.18332/tid/186273

Patterns of cigarette, heated tobacco product, and nicotine vaping product use among Korean adults: Findings from the 2020 ITC Korea Survey

Tob Induc Dis. 2024 Apr 18:22. doi: 10.18332/tid/186273. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Sungkyu Lee¹, Steve S Xu², Mi Yan², Shannon Gravely², Anne C K Quah², Hong Gwan Seo³, Sujin Lim⁴, Sung-Il Cho⁵, Yeol Kim³, Geoffrey T Fong^{2

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Affiliations

¹ Korea Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
³ Korea National Cancer Center, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
⁴ National Tobacco Control Center, Korea Health Promotion Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁶ School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
⁷ Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Non-combustible nicotine products (NCNPs), such as heated tobacco products (HTPs) and nicotine vaping products (NVPs) have gained a significant nicotine market share in South Korea. This descriptive study examined patterns of regular cigarette and NCNP use among South Korean adults.

Methods: Data were from the 2020 International Tobacco Control Korea Survey and included 4016 adults (aged ≥19 years) in the Republic of Korea who were regularly (at least weekly) using at least one NCNP (NVP/HTP, n=2117) and/or smoked cigarettes (n=3763) at the time of the survey. Weighted descriptive estimates were computed to assess respondents' nicotine product use among all respondents (exclusive, dual, or triple use). Thereafter, we identified sociodemographic characteristics associated with NCNP use (n=2117).

Results: Among Korean adults who were smoking cigarettes, 83.1% (95% CI: 81.6-84.6) did so exclusively, and 16.9% (95% CI: 15.4-18.4) smoked cigarettes and used NCNPs. Among those who used HTPs (n=1877), 14.9% (95% CI: 11.5-18.4) did so exclusively, 59.6% used HTPs and smoked cigarettes (95% CI: 55.4-63.1), 4.2% used HTPs and vaped (95% CI: 11.5-18.4), and 21.6% (95% CI: 18.9-24.2) used all three products. Of adults who used HTPs and smoked cigarettes, 86.6% smoked daily. Among those who vaped (n=865), 13.3% did so exclusively (95% CI: 9.4-17.1), 55.6% (95% CI: 49.6-61.5) vaped and smoked cigarettes, 5.1% (95% CI: 1.7-8.6) used HTPs and vaped, and 26.1% (95% CI: 22.1-30.1) used all three products. Of adults who vaped and smoked cigarettes, 82.4% (95% CI: 77.1-87.7) smoked daily.

Conclusions: Cigarettes remain the most commonly used nicotine product in South Korea, and among adults using heated tobacco and/or vaping products, the majority were also smoking. Research is urgently needed to assess whether adults who are using an NCNP are doing so to quit, or rather to complement their cigarette smoking.

Keywords: South Korea; cigarettes; heated tobacco products; nicotine vaping products; non-combustible nicotine products.

Grants and funding

FUNDING The 2020 (Wave 1) ITC Republic of Korea (KRA) Project was supported by a grant from the Republic of Korea National Health Promotion Fund and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation Grant (FDN-148477). Additional support to GTF is provided by a Senior Investigator Grant from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and the Canadian Cancer Society O. Harold Warwick Prize. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.