• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.3
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• pp.203-218
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• 1985

In Korea, the developmental gap is deep between rural and urban areas in spacial aspect and, or between agricultural and industrial side. So there are much room for improvement in agri. development in national standpoint as well as in individual farmer's level. In this respect, agricultural financing is requisitive to speed up the pace of agricultural development and in result, to contribute to improvement of farm income. By the way, farmers' credit demands are always in excess-demand status and they rely on private money-lenders in the burden of high interest rate. In agricultural financing market, there are two kinds of credit ; institutional credit and non-institutional credit market, that is private money-lending. In institutional credit, there are mutual credit system operating by the primary coops and policy credit system by NACF financed by Government in part. Here, in this paper, I venture to study on the improvements of the policy credit system to increase and activate the supply function of agri. policy credit into farmers to enhance their socio-economic status.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1125-1130
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• 2012

Objective: The objective of present study is to investigate the determinants of smoking behaviour among adults in Malaysia. Method: Findings of the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-3) by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, were used. The sample consisted of 34,539 observations. A logistic regression model was thus applied to estimate the probability to participate in smoking. Results: Age, income, gender, marital status, ethnicity, employment status, residential area, education, lifestyle and health status were statistically significant in affecting the likelihood of smoking. Specifically, youngsters, low income earners, males, unmarried individuals, Malays, employed individuals, rural residents and primary educated individuals were more likely to smoke. Conclusion: In conclusion, socio-demographic, lifestyle and health factors have significant impacts on smoking participation in Malaysia. Based on these empirical findings, several policy implications are suggested.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2643-2647
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• 2013

Background: Despite anti-smoking campaigns, smoking prevalence among Thai males aged 30 or older is high, at around 50%. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between smoking and mortality in a rural Thai community. Materials and Methods: Subjects enrolled into the Khon Kaen cohort study between 1990 and 2001 were followed up for their vital status until $16^{th}$ March 2012. The death resource was from the Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Interior, Thailand. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyse the association between smoking and death, controlling for age, education level and alcohol drinking, and confidence intervals were calculated using the floating risk method. Results: The study recruited 5,962 male subjects, of whom 1,396 died during a median 13.5 years of follow-up. Current smokers were more likely to die than never smokers after controlling for age, education level and alcohol drinking (HR, 95%CI: 1.41, 1.32-1.51), and the excess mortality was greatest for lung cancer (HR, 95%CI: 3.51, 2.65-4.66). However, there was no increased risk with increasing dose of tobacco, and no difference in risk between smokers of yamuan (hand-rolled cigarettes) and manufactured tobacco. Conclusion: Mortality from cancer, particularly lung cancer, and from all causes combined is dependent on smoking status among men in rural Thailand, but the relative risks are lower than have been reported from studies in high income countries, where the tobacco epidemic is more established.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup2
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• pp.1-5
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• 2016

To reduce tobacco use and related harm in Korea, telephone based cessation services (Quitlines) began full operation to provide regular behavioral counseling for smoking cessation in 2006. After registration in the cessation program, at least 21 calls per year are given to each client to help quit and encourage maintenance. Tailored programs for males, females, and adolescent smokers have been offered taking into account smokers' characteristics and smoking behavior. Mailing self-help quit packs and e-mail and SMS services are allowable as additional services.A total of 23,201 smokers were registered on the Quitline program from 2006 to 2014. In 2014, an average of 13,343 calls per month have been received by 28 coaches, the 1 year abstinence rate of clients is 26%, and clients' satisfaction rate is 81.6%. After introduction of the call system in 2007, client convenience and effective operations have been achieved with high technology support of a computer-based telephone system. Systematic education and evaluation programs for quit coaches have contributed to quality assurance of the services. Currently, research into development of new programs and evaluation of Quitline performance is being undertaken. A Comprehensive Multi-channel Cessation Center (CMCC) has been suggested and is now planned as a next step in the national program for smoking cessation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.310-319
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• 2018

Objectives: This study examined trends in inequality in cigarette smoking prevalence by income according to recent anti-smoking policies in Korea. Methods: The data used in this study were drawn from three nationally representative surveys, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Korea Community Health Survey, and the Social Survey of Statistics Korea. We calculated the age-standardized smoking prevalence, the slope index of inequality, and the relative index of inequality by income level as a socioeconomic position indicator. Results: Smoking prevalence among men decreased during the study period, but the downward trend became especially pronounced in 2015, when the tobacco price was substantially increased. Inequalities in cigarette smoking by income were evident in both genders over the study period in all three national surveys examined. Absolute inequality tended to decrease between 2014 and 2015 among men. Absolute and relative inequality by income decreased between 2008 and 2016 in women aged 30-59, except between 2014 and 2015. Conclusions: The recent anti-smoking policies in Korea resulted in a downward trend in smoking prevalence among men, but not in relative inequality, throughout the study period. Absolute inequality decreased over the study period among men aged 30-59. A more aggressive tax policy is warranted to further reduce socioeconomic inequalities in smoking in young adults in Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.346-352
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the quality of sleep of university students according to smoking behavior and to generate basic data for use in development of smoking prevention and smoking policies for university students and young adults in their 20s. The quality of sleep of 291 college students was measured based on smoking behavior and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire from May 29, 2017 to June 3, 2017. Multiple logistic regression analysis with step-wise analysis revealed that the quality of OR increased from 2.542 to 2.820 times as the grade increased, and that OR was 3.126 times higher than that of non-smokers and stop-smokers. The quality of sleep worsened with OR=12.388 times. Among general smokers, 72.4% of the students had poor sleep quality, but 82.6% of the students who did not have good sleep quality of electronic-cigarette or tobacco smokers had electronic-cigarette or tobacco worse than regular tobacco.Based on these findings, quitting smoking is essential to improve quality of sleep, but this can be difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to develop legal regulations and policies at the national level. Moreover, a system or service that can manage phased smoking cessation is needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.64-70
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the raise of cigarette prices by KRW 2,000 at the beginning of 2015 on the change in smoking behavior among male office workers, and to analyze the correlation of various factors including their work behaviors and socio-economic factors with their smoking rate. Methods: In this research, a follow-up observation panel was constituted with 420 smokers as targets from among male office workers at a bank located in Daegu, South Korea. A cross-analysis and ANOVA analysis were carried out in order to examine whether changes in smoking status, amount of smoking, stop-smoking motivation, and reasons for smoking cessation failure after the passage of time since the cigarette price hike were statistically significant. The level of statistical significance was P < 0.05. Results: After the cigarette price hike, among the 420 smokers who were the target of the panel the rate of smoking cessation declined at the time-point of the survey to 15.5%, 12.4%, 8.5%, and 5.7% after one month, three months, six months, and 12 months, respectively. As a result of a follow-up observation of 65 smokers who stopped smoking immediately after the price hike, the actual non-smoking rate declined to 15.5%, 8.3%, 4.4%, and 3.1% after one month, three months, six months, and 12 months, respectively. One (1) year after the cigarette price hike, the non-smoking rate among the 420 smokers reached as low as 3.1% (13 persons). The most important reason for the failure of the attempts to quit smoking was stress for more than 60% of the smokers who attempted to stop. Conclusions: It seems that a powerful anti-smoking policy by the state targeting the nation's workers is necessary. For companies, mediation for workers' job stress can become a strategy for the success of non-smoking attempts. The government seems to require a practical policy to reduce the smoking rate by actively carrying out social, economic, and scientific research to come up with a reduction method for the cigarette hazard, an effective price hike policy, and other non-price policies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2015

Background: The study was designed to assess the changes in working conditions through a comparative analysis of the characteristics of working conditions in 2006 and 2010. Methods: We performed a comparative analysis of the data related to the first Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) and the second KWCS in the categories of demographic characteristics, quality of labor, exposure to hazards, and health problems. Results: From our analysis of the demographic characteristics, we saw an increase in labor force participation rate of women and elderly people. As a result of the investigation with regards to working hours, the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}49$ hours per week was decreased and the ratio of employees who worked for ${\geq}40h/wk$ increased. As for exposure to hazards, exposure to tobacco smoke notably decreased in 2010 compared with 2006. With regards to health problems, there was a sharp increase in the number of people who complained of muscle pain in their arms and legs. Conclusion: KWCS data included many aspects of working conditions as a nationwide sample. In addition, because this is a periodic nationwide survey, the labor force, working hours, harmful factor exposure, and the change in health problems characteristics according to the flow of time could be investigated. The information comparing the main results of the first survey conducted in 2006 and the second survey conducted in 2010 obtained through this study can be used as an important base material for the establishment of the national policy.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.111-127
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• 2003

The government of Korea enacted the National Health Promotion Act in 1995, and set aside funds for national health promotion, endeavoring to reduce the smoking rate of its citizens. Consequently, smoking rates in all age groups of both sexes were lowered during the period of 1999-2003 when legal backing and financial support for no-smoking policies from the national health promotion funds were provided. The decrease in the smoking rate is attributed to the combined effort of the fact that enactment of related acts, their implementation, financial support, and education and publicity 'campaigns on no smoking. However, at the current pace of decreasing the smoking rates, it will be difficult to achieve the Health and Welfare Ministry's smoking rate goal of30％ among adult males by 2013. Thus, related acts should be reshaped, corresponding support should be increased, and financial support should also be provided to implement comprehensive no-smoking policies. Also, budgets should also be alloted to establish a system of providing feedback on the monitoring and evaluation of both short-term and long-term no-smoking business planning and implementation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6903-6908
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• 2015

Background: As smoking is the leading preventable cause of multiple diseases and premature cancer deaths, estimating the burden of cancer attributable to smoking has become the standard in documenting the adverse impact of smoking. In Indonesia, there is a dearth of studies assessing the economic costs of cancers related to smoking. This study aimed to estimate indirect mortality costs of premature cancer deaths and years of potential life lost (YPLL) attributable to smoking among the Indonesian population. Materials and Methods: A prevalence based method was employed. Using national data, we estimated smoking-attributable cancer mortality in 2013. Premature mortality costs and YPLL were estimated by calculating number of cancer deaths, life expectancy, annual income, and workforce participation rate. A human capital approach was used to calculate the present value of lifetime earnings (PVLE). A discount rate of 3% was applied. Results: The study estimated that smoking attributable cancer mortality was 74,440 (30.6% of total cancer deaths), comprised of 95% deaths in men and 5% in women. Cancers attributed to smoking wereresponsible for 1,207,845 YPLL. Cancer mortality costs caused by smoking accounted for USD 1,309 million in 2013. Among all cancers, lung cancer is the leading cause of death and economic burden. Conclusions: Cancers related to smoking pose an enormous economic burden in Indonesia. Therefore, tobacco control efforts need to be prioritized in order to prevent more losses to the nation. The data of this study are important for advocating national tobacco control policy.