Women Smokers Start Habit Out of Curiosity
(By Byun Duk-kun The Korea Times-August 29, 2003)

Almost one in every two female smokers was found to have started smoking out of simple curiosity.

Kim Ae-suk, a graduate of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Kyung Hee University, revealed in her thesis that more than 46 percent of female smokers start smoking just because they are curious what it is like.

A survey, conducted by Kim on 342 female students in their 20s, also revealed that more than 33 percent of female students were addicted to the potentially hazardous habit.

The survey also showed that those who were brought up under a strict family environment were more likely to start smoking,¡¯¡¯ she added.

More than 51 percent of female smokers surveyed said their parents were very strict, while only 29 percent said their parents were open-minded. Kim said such discrepancy is because the students believe smoking may reduce stress.

The survey also found that almost one in every five female smokers was encouraged by their peers to start smoking. More than 19 percent of those surveyed said they started lighting up at their friends¡¯ suggestion.

Smoking may seem cool for young students and it also spreads very fast when even one out of a whole group of friends smokes.

Younger children are even more vulnerable to such temptations to look cool, because their values or priorities are yet to be fixed, according to Kim.