Tobacco smoking in North Korea

In North Korea, smoking is permitted but certain regulatory restrictions exist for tobacco products. Within this framework, cigarette sales are allowed. While consumers are allowed to purchase products online, purchasing them through vending machines is prohibited. Furthermore, the importation of cigarettes for commercial trade is allowed with an appropriate license. However, the authorities mandate health warnings on all cigarette packaging and enforce a minimum legal purchase age of 18 years. Legal restrictions also exist for smoking in public places, including healthcare and educational facilities. Additionally, tobacco advertising is regulated, but a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising does not exist.

The prevalence of tobacco smoking remains a critical public health issue in North Korea. As of 2024, approximately 3,4 million individuals aged 15 years and older were reported to be smokers. This figure represents a slight decrease from 2020 when 3,573,389 individuals were reported to be smokers. The overall current prevalence of adult tobacco smoking in 2024 was 16.1%, which shows a small decline from 17.6% in 2020. The adult current smoking prevalence among males was recorded to be 32.9% in 2024, compared to 36.4% in 2020. For reference, the adult daily smoking prevalence in 2017 was 18.3%, with a prevalence of 38.4% males. This is , however, not reported among females.

In 2021, there were approximately 42,321 deaths attributed to smoking in North Korea. This number represents 17.48% of all deaths in the country. The gender-specific data from 2021 shows that among males, 27.4% of all deaths were due to tobacco smoking, whereas for females, the figure was 8.13%. These statistics reflect the ongoing challenges in tobacco control in North Korea, necessitating targeted interventions and policies to reduce tobacco prevalence and its associated health impacts.