By Kim Tae Won and Hahm Hee-eun


On May 31, the government is holding a ceremony to celebrate World No Tobacco Day and is participating in the global effort to quit smoking.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on May 30 that it will hold a ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of World No Tobacco Day, and unveil its anti-smoking slogan and public advertisements for the year.

This year's anti-smoking slogan -- "Smoking isn’t just suicide, it’s murder." -- sends the message that smokers not only kill themselves, but also other people around them. The new anti-smoking advertisements depict tobacco as a murderer, and contain information that every day 159 people die from it.

At the No Tobacco ceremony, the National Health Insurance Service and the National Cancer Center will receive special awards from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The National Health Insurance Service was highly appraised for filing a lawsuit against tobacco companies and providing anti-smoking treatment to patients. The National Cancer Center also encouraged anti-smoking actions by designating the entire center as a non-smoking area for the first time in Korea.

Park Neunghoo, minister of health and welfare, said, "We will continue to strengthen our tobacco control policies in the future by expanding non-smoking areas, restricting cigarette displays and advertisements in retail stores, and attaching warning signs on cigarette packs."

twkim0717@korea.kr