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Friday, 2nd September 2016
In General Japan News,
Japanese government calls for smoking ban
Banning smoking in all indoor public spaces in Japan could become a reality after a report was released by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
In it, the faction of the government proposed a 100 per cent ban on smoking in places, such as restaurants, bars and shops.
The Tobacco White Paper, which outlines the negative effects of passive smoking, has been updated for the first time in 15 years.
It looks at four risk factors and analyses the links between diseases and second-hand smoke, based on data from a number of studies.
For the first time in Japan’s history, the attitude towards smoking is criticised formally in the report and therefore recommends a ban be implemented.
Links between lung cancer, cardiac infarction, cerebral embolism and child asthma and smoking are now ranked as Level 1, the most dangerous in the classification system.
A complete ban is likely to be implemented, as the report highlights the problems associated with dedicated smoking rooms.
Such facilities give cigarette smoke the opportunity to leak out into surrounding areas and represent significant health worries for cleaning staff.
Japan is considered one of the worst nations in the world for having prevention measures in place when it comes to encountering passive smoking.
This was reinforced in the report with reference to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) figures that estimate around 15,000 people die in Japan each year as a result of second-hand smoke.
No date has been confirmed as to when a ban on smoking in public indoor places may come into effect in Japan, but the report is an important step towards its implementation.
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