'I can't quit smoking because I'm a
woman'
Office worker Lee
Yeon-joo, 29, has been trying to quit smoking for
over a year, but without much success. Although she is concerned about her
health, she can't give up the habit of chain-smoking that she picked up during
the last four years working in her company.
"Though it's
my own fault that I haven't been able to keep to my resolution, I can't help
thinking that the company played a role in the bad habit," she says.
In 2002, Lee
entered one of Korea's
major companies that is known for having a conservative
atmosphere. Unable to smoke around male colleagues and seniors in the
smoking-zone provided by the building, Lee began to pay frequent visits to
cafes as an alternative.
"Smoking has
cost me a lot of money, and I'm not talking about the price of cigarettes
either. The frequent trips to coffee shops means I have to buy several
expensive cups of coffee a day."
Lee also began to
chain-smoke at least three cigarettes in less than 15 minutes, knowing that she
wouldn't be able to smoke again for a couple of hours.
"Ironically,
this has now become some kind of a secret routine that I can't seem to get rid
of," she said.
As smoking is now
a globally accepted as a health hazard, females no longer advocate gender
equality for the sake of free smoking. But ironically, a biased social climate
appears to be making it much harder for some females to quit the habit.
It has been
almost two years since the Korean government declared war against smoking.
Along with
raising the price of cigarettes by 500 won per pack in December 2004, the
Ministry of Health and Welfare has opened 246 nonsmoking clinics nationwide,
providing free of charge assistance to those who wish to quit smoking.
With over 2
million male smokers signing up for help at these clinics, the percentage of
adult male smokers dropped below 50 percent for the first time in March this
year, reaching 45.9 percent in September.
The percentage of
adult female smokers, however, has been stuck at between 2 to 3 percent. In
September, 2.8 percent of women smoked, showing a slight increase from the 2.4
percent in June. Almost none of these females registered at the government-run
clinics.
What is worse,
the government statistics on female smokers may not be reliable. With many
women keeping the fact a secret, it is likely that there are far more female
smokers out there.
"The gender
equality argument may have played a crucial role in increasing the number of
female smokers, but the ongoing prejudice is making it harder for them to
expressly work on quitting the habit," said Lee Bok-geon
of the Korean Association of Smoking and Health. "Although we all know
that expressing the will to quit is the first and the most crucial step to quit
smoking, most females are unwilling to reveal the fact
that they smoke to begin with."
Due to reasons
such as this, female organizations are highlighting the need for a separate
plan to work on women smokers. With the number of smokers unclear to begin
with, it is almost impossible to actively work on reducing the number, they
say.
But for women
like Lee, going to a public clinic is not on her agenda to help quit the habit.
"The public
nonsmoking clinics are the last place I'd go to. Why would I want to reveal
myself after all these years? Especially, if I'm going to quit anyway,"
said Lee.
"Chain-smoking"
is another serious problem, especially for female smokers who can't smoke as
freely as men.
According to
research by the Health Ministry, over 90 percent of female smokers said they
smoked more than three cigarettes each coffee break for the simple reason that
they had limited freedom for smoking.
As women are
biologically weaker to nicotine addiction, it becomes even more dangerous for
chain-smokers, experts say.
"When the
organs ore exposed to a massive amount of nicotine at a time, it becomes harder
for the person to control to desire, even after making up their minds to
quit," said Chung Chan-wook of Prism Internal
Medical Center.
"From various researches, we found that chain smoking could be a crucial
factor that was making it harder for women to quit."
Though Korean
society has opened up toward the idea of female smokers, the majority still
seems somewhat discomforted by the idea. While it is easy to spot men smoking
on the streets, women smokers usually find a more secretive area to smoke -
cafes, bars and toilets.
Astonishing
incidents still occur concerning female smokers. Earlier this year, a female
smoker in North Jeolla Province was beaten by a man who called
her a "smoking trash." After being arrested, the man said, "Why
arrest a citizen with a proper mind."
In 2001, the
confederation of female student unions in nationwide universities surveyed
1,475 male students on their feelings on female smokers.
While 42 percent
answered that they did not mind, 89 percent answered that they did not want
smokers as their girlfriends or wives, proving that a double standard existed
for female smokers even among the younger generation in their 20s. Most of
these students had answered that they did not like female smokers "for no
reason."
"I am afraid
that this might make me a sexist, but I frankly can't see myself getting
married to a woman smoker," said a 32-year-old office worker who wished to
remain anonymous. "I am worried for the baby and all, but mostly, I just
don't like the idea."
With this double
standard, women feel that they are not really given the freedom to smoke - or
quit.
In her book
"The Cruel History of Female Smokers (Heupyeonyeoseong
Janhoksa)," author Suh
Myung-sook insists that society must first scrap
prejudice against female smokers before sticking an obligation of quitting to
them.
"Although
females have broken the taboo of smoking, the traditional social taboo has not
yet been broken. The real freedom of quitting comes with a real freedom to
smoke," she said.
"Because men
have the freedom to smoke, they have the freedom to quit. But for women, they
have less chance to think about quitting since they are already too taken up
over the issue of smoking," Suh added. "How
could society really think about helping female smokers to quit smoking, when
they don't even admit the fact that women do smoke?"
Centuries ago,
women in trousers were considered "dissenters" of the social morals.
Now, women wearing pants are no different from those in neat skirts or dresses.
Is Korea
as open-minded to women smokers as to women in trousers, or will it take
another century for that to really happen?
Whichever the
case, one thing is for sure: Unless women are given the same open-minded view
on smoking as wearing pants, it will remain harder for them to openly consider
the issue of quitting.