On the streets, it is common to see scores of smartly dressed men with a suitcase in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I often have to dart for cover or hold my breath to avoid the odious second-hand smoke.

'From afar, they looked like smouldering chimneys billowing with smoke,' a visiting friend once told me.

In South Korea, one in two adult males smoke (about eight million), the highest rate among OECD countries.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) consists of the world's 30 most developed countries.

The percentage of smokers among males is 19 per cent in the United States, 17 per cent in Canada and 26 per cent in England.

Among South Korean women, only 4 per cent smoke.

Smokers in South Korea are seen to be hip, due in part to celebrities who glamorise smoking.

In the hit soap opera Winter Sonata, the character played by Korean heart-throb Bae Yong Jun was seen lighting up. Leading actors such as Jang Dong Gun, Kwon Sang Woo and Lee Byung Hun also smoke on the big screen and in real life.

Many public figures such as politicians and lawmakers are smokers too.

IT engineer Baek Eun Ho said: 'Smoking is seen as macho, as exemplified by these figures who commanded the attention of the masses.'

The number of young smokers has gone up and smokers are picking up the habit at a younger age.

Last year, 21 per cent of male high school students were smokers, compared to 16 per cent in 2004, according to the Health Ministry.

They started smoking at the age of 12, compared to 1998, when they had their first cigarette at 15.

And for those who did not pick up smoking in school, many did so during mandatory military service.

Army recruit Park Jae Song, 21, said the smoking culture is so strong in the army that it is 'very difficult to refuse a smoke offer from seniors or superiors'.

Given the pressure, many simply cave in and start smoking.

Smokers blame their habit on South Korea's highly competitive society.

Mr Kim Joon Hyong, 29, an administration clerk, said: 'Life in this country is an endless rat race. From student to soldier and worker, only one thing is constant - stress.

'Smoking offers respite from the relentless grind, however fleeting it may be.'

One in two workers is depressed because of work, according to online job agency Jobkorea, which polled 1,000 workers in April.

Among this group of people, 20 per cent of them turned to drinking and smoking for relief.

Smokers also enjoy the camaraderie that comes when they gather at designated lighting up corners.

Mr Kim, who works in a high-rise office block, meets his fellow smokers at a designated lot outside the building for their nicotine fix.

'It is the time and place to gossip and share information about office politics,' he said.

The smoking culture is aided by the relatively low cost of cigarettes. One pack costs 1,900 won (S$3), the price of a cheesebur-

ger. In the army barracks, cigarettes are even cheaper because there is no tax.

Given that the country has long been a nation of smokers, any attempt to increase cigarette taxes will spark an outcry among the millions who light up.

But smoking has taken a toll on the health and economy of Korean society.

According to a 13-year medical study on 1.2 million patients by the Public Health Graduate School of Yonsei University, about 73 per cent of male smokers and 18 per cent of female smokers contracted lung cancer.

Smoking is the leading cause of death in the country, with more than 40,000 people dying every year from smoking-related diseases, according to the Health Ministry.

If the trend continues, that number is expected to reach about 100,000 by 2030.

Smoking costs the economy more than 10 trillion won a year in terms of health-care expenses and lost man-hours.

Mindful of the huge cost, the government has come up with a slew of anti-smoking measures.

Since April last year, smoking has been banned in all government facilities and office buildings with a floor area of more than 1,000 sq m. Those who want to light up have to go outside the buildings.

The government has not explained why smoking is not banned in smaller buildings.

A violation can lead to fines of up to three million won for building owners and up to 30,000 won for smokers.

In Internet cafes and restaurants, there are partitions to separate the smoking sections from the non-smoking ones.

In some districts in Seoul, the local authorities came up with a law to fine those who threw their cigarette butts on the street. Within a month, one district collected more than 500 million won in fines.

In a radical move, Konkuk University in Seoul has said that starting next year, it will favour a non-smoking applicant over a smoker if both of them have the same score.

In September, anti-smoking posters were put up at all bus stops in Seoul as part of a mass education campaign.

More than two million people have checked into the 246 smoking cessation clinics set up by the Health Ministry last year.

Last week, Parliament passed a Bill to compel tobacco companies to put more details about the harmful substances found in cigarettes on cigarette packs, starting from 2009.

Besides nicotine and tar, other ingredients to be listed include nickel, benzene and arsenic.

'It is necessary to warn smokers and raise their awareness of the harmful effects of smoking,' said lawmaker Yang Seong Jo.

Hopefully all these measures will help to reduce the size of the army of smokers out there.

There will be fresher air and better health for everyone.

And I won't have to duck every time I venture out into the streets.

leeteejong@yahoo.com