공공장소의 흡연규제를 위한 제도화 방안

초록

This thesis looks at how smoking in public places is currently regulated through a legal system in an effort to protect public health by restricting smoking, and discusses more effective methods to regulate passive smoking. In Korea, smoking in public places is restricted under the National Health Promotion Act. However, it has failed to put adequate regulations in place to ban smoking in indoor public places, lagging far behind advanced countries. It is advised to amend the abovementioned law to completely ban smoking in indoor places. However, regulating passive smoking does not draw sufficient attention and support from lawmakers. The adverse effects of smoking have been proven by empirical researches. It has also been turned out that passive smoking was as harmful as active smoking. That is why advanced countries are strongly regulating smoking in public places. However, Korea has not been active in regulating the practice. Under the National Health Promotion Act, not all public places are designated as no-smoking areas. Enacting a law banning smoking in public places or amending relevant laws currently in place would be an effective way to protect people from the harmful effects of smoking. Improving the National Health Promotion Act would be the strongest policy tool. If it is not probable that the law is amended, local governments might first introduce by-laws to push for policies designed to prevent harmful effects of passive smoking before actions are taken at the national level. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been working in this direction; however, it has so far failed in adopting a comprehensive law, and the current regulations are not enough to properly regulate passive smoking. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control(WHO FCTC), to which Korea is a signatory, includes a wide range of actions to prevent damage by smoking, and in particular, it requires the signatories to adopt stringent regulations on smoking in public places. In this sense, delivering on the convention might be one reason to introduce a new law or improve the current regulations. The Constitutional Court of Korea recognizes the right to smoke as one of the fundamental rights while it found that the right to refuse exposure to cigarette smoke outweighs the right to smoke when the two rights collide as the former is directly related to health and life. Smokers should abstain from smoking in public places for public health. However, introducing relevant laws is just as important and urgently needed.

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