PYONGYANG, North Korea, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- North Korea has launched a nationwide anti-smoking campaign after leader Kim Jong-il reportedly quit the habit and called on his people to do the same.
Reports in the South Korean media said Kim recently called smokers one of the "three main fools of the 21st century," along with those ignorant about computers and music.
North Korean television has carried slogans and programs telling Koreans how harmful cigarette smoking can be to their health, the BBC reported Friday.
"Let's quit smoking and contribute in good health to the building of a powerful nation," Choe Ong-ju, the North's chief public hygiene inspector, urged viewers in one TV spot.
"Let's quit! Smoking endangers our health!" Choe shouted.
Experts on North Korea say an estimated 40 percent of the North's 22 million people smoke cigarettes, one of the highest rates in the world.
Unconfirmed reports have circulated in the Japanese press that Kim suffered prolonged ill health in late 2003. The North Korean media had no coverage of his activities for several weeks between October and December.
