South Korean troops quit smoking with help from their fellow service members

In South Korea’s military, quitting smoking is presented as a team effort rather than a test of willpower alone. The National Health Insurance Service and the Defense Ministry’s medical command have built a support system around peer counselors, medical staff and hospital clinics.

The military introduced its tobacco and betel-nut prevention counselor system in frontline units in 2011. More than 400 active-duty service members receive training each year to offer care, companionship, counseling and referrals to colleagues trying to quit smoking or betel-nut use.

One service member, identified by the alias Xiaohua, had served for six years when he began to notice the physical cost of smoking. He typically smoked during the pressure of exercises, late-night duty or time off. After becoming breathless and experiencing chest discomfort following a physical fitness test, he saw younger colleagues complete the test easily and realized smoking had affected his condition. A military doctor found that his lung function was below the average for his age.

Xiaohua first cut his consumption from a pack a day to half a pack, then to several cigarettes. When cravings came, he drank water, stretched or turned to activities he enjoyed. After three months without smoking, he felt his lung capacity and stamina improve. He built the change gradually, focusing on not smoking for one day, three days, a week and then a month.

The military medical command has held the “Winning by Quitting Smoking” contest annually since 2014. Last year, 2,893 teams took part. The three-month cessation rate was 38%, the 15-month rate was 88.8%, and the overall success rate was 41%. Since 2023, the Defense Ministry has held 158 cessation classes. By June this year, it had conducted 1,359 tobacco and betel-nut prevention sessions attended by more than 340,000 people, along with 11 related events attended by nearly 1,600 people.