Smoking addiction is on the rise in the Korean American community while its declining among other Americans, reports KoreAm.
That’s especially troubling when you consider the three leading causes of death in the Korean American community are all connected to smoking–cancer, heart disease and stroke.
A study by Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) found about one-third of Korean Americans are smokers with second generation Korean Americans more likely to smoke than first generation.
“We need to be able to get messages to them through resources that are culturally appropriate,” said Rod Lew, founder and executive director of APPEAL.
You can read about the spike in smoking among Korean American women and what’s behind the prevalence in smoking in the second generation in KoreAm..