• March 28, 2024

Education key to healthy lifestyles

 Education key to healthy lifestyles

When the South Korean government raises tobacco tax or allows distillers to increase the price of alcohol, families whose heads are less well educated bear a heavier burden than do families with better-educated heads, according to a story in The Korea Times.

This follows mainly from the fact, confirmed yesterday in statistics released by the government, that the higher a person’s educational background, the less she spends on alcohol and tobacco.

According to Statistics Korea, Korean households with two or more members last year spent per month an average of 12,109 won (US$10) on alcohol and 20,956 won on tobacco. That is: they spent 33,065 won, or 1.3 percent of their monthly total expenditure of 2.56 million won, on drinks and cigarettes, up 18.8 percent from 27,848 won in 2014.

But the higher the educational level of the heads of households, the less they spent on alcohol and cigarettes. When the household heads graduated after two years of college or more, their monthly average alcohol and tobacco expense stood at 26,508 won, 0.9 percent of their total spending of 2.97 million won a month.

In the case of households whose heads graduated after middle or lower school, their average spending on alcohol and cigarettes amounted to 34,565 won a month, 2.1 percent of their total spend.

“The smoking and drinking rates fall in reverse proportion to education,” a government statistician was quoted as saying.

“That means if the government raises tobacco tax and allows distillers to increase the price of soju [Korean vodka], it will pose heavier burdens on older, poorer and less-educated families.”