Nearly One In Four Monks Smoke Cigarettes

[george]

Nearly one in four monks smoke cigarettes

SOUTH KOREA: -– Over 24 percent of Buddhist monks in Thailand are regular smokers, despite Buddhist strictures against intoxicating substances, according to a team of university researchers.

Reporting to delegates in South Korea attending the 7th Asia-Pacific Conference on Tobacco, the team from Mahidol and Rangsit universities said that a survey of 6,213 monks across the country had shown that 24.4 percent were smokers.

However, of those who smoked before they ordained, 40 percent were success ful in giving up their habit while ordained as a monk.

Interestingly, a mere 33 percent of the smokers said that government legisla tion against cigarette smoking in temples would persuade them to give up their habit.

Nonetheless, the report showed that 22.5 percent of monks wanted to kick their habit, and that 80 percent of monks were keen to encourage the public not to smoke.

-- TNA 2004-09-17