Adolescent health declines through school, with drinking and smoking on the rise
Published: 29 Jan. 2026, 12:38
Updated: 29 Jan. 2026, 18:37
![People are seen going in and out of a smoking zone near Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Jan. 15. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/29/33cc0472-2128-4d00-961c-bad8982d1bc5.jpg)
People are seen going in and out of a smoking zone near Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Jan. 15. [NEWS1]
Korean adolescents’ health declines steadily as they advance through school, with smoking and drinking rising sharply while physical activity and diet worsen, according to a long-term tracking study released Thursday.
The report, based on a youth health panel survey by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, followed 5,051 students from sixth grade in 2019 through their second year of high school in 2024. It found deterioration across major health indicators, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, nutrition and exercise.
Smoking showed the most pronounced increase. The share of students who had used tobacco products rose from just 0.35 percent in sixth grade to 9.59 percent by the second year of high school.
Among second-year high school girls, the use rate of liquid e-cigarettes reached 1.54 percent, surpassing conventional cigarette use at 1.33 percent for the first time. The agency said perceptions that e-cigarettes are less harmful appear to be lowering barriers to smoking among girls.
Alcohol experience also climbed sharply. The share who had tried alcohol — even just a sip or two — reached 60.8 percent, meaning about six in 10 in the panel had already been exposed to drinking. The share who had consumed at least one full glass was 33.7 percent.
![Cigarettes are on display at a convenience store in Seoul on Jan. 15. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/29/cd2c0379-b137-448b-911b-842fac0a19d0.jpg)
Cigarettes are on display at a convenience store in Seoul on Jan. 15. [YONHAP]
The highest rate of newly initiated drinking came during the transition into the first year of middle school, at 15.6 percent, reinforcing the view that the move from elementary to middle school is a particularly vulnerable period for exposure to harmful substances.
Physical health indicators also worsened. The rate of skipping breakfast at least five days a week climbed to 33 percent, up 4 percentage points from the previous year. Consumption rates for fruit, vegetables and milk all fell, deepening nutritional imbalance, while only 13.5 percent reported getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
The share reporting smartphone overdependence was 35.1 percent, and 8 percent experienced moderate or higher levels of anxiety, underscoring the severity of mental health concerns.
The survey found that adolescents were far more likely to begin smoking or drinking when friends held permissive attitudes toward those behaviors or when they had friends who smoked or drank. Having smokers or drinkers at home, or parents who were tolerant of underage drinking, also tended to bring forward the onset of risky behaviors.
The agency said it plans to conduct an additional three years of follow-up to more precisely analyze how health habits formed in adolescence affect health in adulthood. The overall panel retention rate stood at 80.7 percent, supporting the reliability of the long-term tracking study.
“Lifestyle habits formed during adolescence shape health for a lifetime,” said the agency, calling for urgent, integrated health policies involving schools, families and local communities.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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