Data from: Effectiveness of government anti-smoking policy on nonsmoking youth in Korea: a four-year trend analysis of national survey data

Objectives: Since the Health Promotion Act was introduced in Korea in 1995, anti-smoking policies and regulations have undergone numerous revisions, and non-smoking areas have gradually been expanded. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a partial legislative ban on adolescent exposure to secondhand smoke using objective urinary cotinine levels in a nationwide representative sample. Methods: Urine cotinine levels were measured in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2008 to 2011. This study was a trend analysis of 4 years of national survey data from 2197 Korean youth aged 10–18 years. Among non-smokers, the 75th percentile urinary cotinine level was estimated. We also considered the number of household smokers. Results: The 75th percentile urine cotinine level of non-smokers showed a significant decreasing trend from 2008 to 2011, from 15.47 to 5.37 ng/mL, respectively. Urine cotinine did not decline significantly in non-smokers living with smokers during the study period. The results did not show a statistically significant reduction in smoking rate in adolescents from 2008 to 2011, although there was a trend towards a decrease (p=0.081). Conclusions: Based on urine cotinine levels, government-initiated anti-smoking policies have only been effective among highly exposed non-smoking adolescents during the study period. Further study needs to evaluate whether or not the legislative ban affects domestic smoking exposure.

研究目的：自1995年韩国出台《健康促进法》以来，控烟政策与法规历经多次修订，禁烟区域也逐步扩大。本研究利用全国代表性样本的客观尿可替宁（urinary cotinine）水平，探究部分立法禁令对青少年二手烟暴露的影响。
研究方法：本研究采用2008至2011年韩国全国健康与营养检查调查（Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey）的数据，针对2197名年龄介于10至18岁的韩国青少年的4年全国调查数据开展趋势分析。研究对象为非吸烟者，对其尿可替宁水平的75分位值进行估算，同时考量家庭内吸烟者的数量。
研究结果：2008至2011年，非吸烟者的尿可替宁75分位值呈现显著下降趋势，分别从15.47 ng/mL降至5.37 ng/mL。研究期间，与吸烟者同住的非吸烟者的尿可替宁水平未出现显著下降。尽管青少年吸烟率存在下降趋势，但2008至2011年间其降幅未达到统计学显著性（p=0.081）。
研究结论：基于尿可替宁水平，本研究期间政府推行的控烟政策仅对暴露程度较高的非吸烟青少年有效。未来需开展进一步研究，以评估该立法禁令是否会对家庭内的吸烟暴露情况产生影响。