There are about 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, and the mortality burden from tobacco use has been estimated to exceed 6 million annually [1]. In Korea, male smoking prevalence is among the highest in the world [2]. In 2000, the prevalence was estimated to be 68% among men and 3% among women [2]. The number of deaths attributable to smoking-related diseases in Korea is about 35,000 each year, and the economic loss from premature death from smoking-related diseases exceeded 3 trillion won (approximately US $2.5 billion) in the year 2000 [3].
