Objectives: A content analysis was conducted to examine whether the current school textbooks providing smoking information are effective or not. Methods: The authors reviewed 111 qualified textbooks using elementary through high schools during 2006-2007 academic year in Korea. Educational components were coded with an analysis tool developed through the present research. Result: Tobacco education components were narrowly focused on long-term physiological consequences of tobacco use, addictiveness, and harmful ingredients and they were repetitively shown in the textbooks. Negative health consequences such as lung cancer were emphasized 10 times among 12 smoking-related textbooks. Educational messages or contents are mainly based on medical knowledge (72%) rather than psycho-social components. The US school-based smoking prevention programs, however, employ psycho-social approach with cognitive and life-skill components and they contain only 7-17% of smoking-related medical knowledge. In order to increase psycho-social smoking prevention components in Korean textbooks, the present study identified social subjects of textbooks (and relating core sessions) for elementary, middle, and high school. It also provided guidelines for school instructors to use. Conclusion: Adolescent smoking behavior is not caused by the deficit of health information, but mostly by social influences including media and peer pressure. School textbooks proving smoking information need to increase psycho-social context. One of the most effective ways as a psycho-social smoking prevention program is to use social subjects (or curriculum) of textbooks such as social studies, ethics, social cultures, social environment, and home management.