Outdoor Mask Removal Leads to Increase in 'Street Smokers'... Non-Smokers Express 'Complaints'

Increase in 'Street Smoking' Raises Complaints from Non-Smokers
Unauthorized Cigarette Butt Littering Cases Rise After Social Distancing Ends
Calls for Smoking Booths as Smoking Areas Are Only 1/40 the Size of Non-Smoking Zones
Seoul City Designates Outdoor Public Places Like Parks as Non-Smoking Areas

In front of a building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, smokers are smoking without masks. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] "I'm suffering because of cigarette smoke," "Cigarette smoke is coming inside my mask."

Since the outdoor mask mandate was lifted on the 2nd, the number of non-smokers suffering from roadside smoking has been increasing. In downtown business districts such as Jongno and Gwanghwamun in Seoul, it is easy to see office workers gathering on the streets to smoke.

Despite the lifting of the outdoor mask-wearing mandate, citizens are not easily taking off their masks. This seems to reflect the perception that the risks of lifting the outdoor mask mandate outweigh the benefits. According to a COVID-19 infection perception survey conducted by Professor Yoo Myung-soon’s team at Seoul National University from the 6th to 8th of this month, involving 1,018 adult men and women nationwide, respondents answered regarding the lifting of the outdoor mask mandate as follows: "Risks and benefits are similar or equal" (40.3%), "Risks are greater than benefits" (34.0%), and "Benefits are greater than risks" (21.7%).

Regarding this, Professor Yoo said, "It is significant that the perception that the risks of lifting the outdoor mask mandate are greater than the benefits appeared higher than the opposite view," and interpreted, "This seems to reflect concerns about the negative psychological impact on indoor mask-wearing, which remains the last line of defense amid the lifting of most social distancing measures."

However, smokers say that the lifting of the outdoor mask mandate has reduced the burden of smoking outdoors. Since masks are no longer mandatory, the psychological burden of briefly removing masks to smoke on the street has decreased. Office worker A said, "In the past, taking off the mask to smoke was awkward and I was worried about COVID-19 infection. Now that I can take off the mask, I find it easier to smoke."

The number of fines imposed for illegal cigarette butt littering has also increased in some districts of Seoul. In Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 58 cases were caught from April 25 to May 1, when outdoor mask-wearing was mandatory, but from May 2 to 8, the number rose to 92 cases, about 1.6 times more. In Jongno-gu, where many companies are concentrated, the average daily number of cases caught increased slightly from 92.2 cases between April 25 and May 1 to 106.5 cases between May 2 and 8.

Some non-smokers are struggling with secondhand smoke caused by street smokers. B, who works at a company in Gwanghwamun, said, "Since the mask mandate was lifted, street smoking seems to have increased. Especially, some people smoke while walking on the street, and I always have to hurry past them," adding, "It’s distressing that cigarette smoke gets inside my mask."

However, smoking on the street where it is not a non-smoking zone is not subject to enforcement or punishment. There is also an argument that the so-called "right to smoke" of smokers, who have no proper place to smoke, should be respected. A said, "There is no proper place to smoke. Even when I go to a corner to smoke, I feel self-conscious about passersby." It is pointed out that providing smoking booths or spaces for smoking would reduce conflicts between smokers and non-smokers. According to Seoul City, as of January 2019, there are about 282,600 non-smoking zones in Seoul, whereas as of December 2018, there are about 6,200 smoking zones, which is about 1/40 the number of non-smoking zones.

Meanwhile, Seoul City and its 25 districts are designating outdoor public places as non-smoking zones. Non-smoking zones designated by the city include plazas such as Seoul Plaza and Cheonggye Plaza, about 20 parks, bus stops in the central lanes, and areas within 10 meters of subway entrances. Districts can also designate non-smoking zones separately.