Public rallies and street marches for no tobacco.
South Korea’s largest annual Anti-tobacco Campaign May 12 to June 15 drew some 10,000 people to more than 58 venues nationwide. Seventh-day Adventists sponsored the campaign, which highlighted the dangers of smoking, and included a range of events, from a Kids’ No-smoking Speech Contest, to public rallies, to street marches. Participants in the anti-tobacco campaign also distributed more than 50,000 “No-Tobacco” scarves to soccer fans attending the Korea 2002 World Cup, currently underway in venues around the country.
One of the highlights of the campaign was an Anti-Tobacco rally in Seoul May 25 attended by some 2,000 people. The march began with a stop-smoking ceremony that included speeches and music, and the launch of a 2002 signature-collecting campaign against tobacco.
Organizers say they were happy with the turnout for this year’s campaign—the largest number yet. The quit-smoking campaigns were also supported by the government, police stations, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and many non-governmental organizations, including the Korean Association of Smoking and Health, People’s Coalition for a Smoke-Free Korea, Commission on Youth Protection, and Korea Association of Health Promotion.
“These nationwide movements have drawn the public’s attention, and strengthened the smokers’ will to quit smoking,” said Cho Won-woong, general secretary of the International Temperance Association Korea, and health ministries director for the Adventist Church in the region.
The International Temperance Association Korea was organized by Adventists in Korea in 1970, and promotes principles of healthy living throughout the country.
