Passive smoking continues unchecked in Japan; ‘Unparalleled among developed nations’

Japanese society’s generous attitude towards cigarette smoke stood out when data assembled from countries that have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

While the current trend among industrialized nations is to completely ban smoking at workplaces, public facilities and even restaurants and bars, Japan is yet to go further then setting up separate areas for smokers and non-smokers.

The Japanese Society for Tobacco Control (JSTC) criticized Japan after the statistics were released: “Among industrialized nations, Japan has done the least to fight passive smoking,” and said proper counter-measures were “throughly lacking.“

Out of the 56 countries included in the study, 31 countries had carried out “full-scale” measures against passive smoking in hospitals, while Japan has only carried out “partial” measures.

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2 responses to “Passive smoking continues unchecked in Japan; ‘Unparalleled among developed nations’”

Eric Kuo, Dec 10 at 2:17 pm :

What a disgrace! I have been living in Japan for nearly 4 years but passive smoking has NOT improved at all. Top doctors in Japan are smokers and i cannot believe that an advance nation does things the opposite way: Allow smoking indoors and ban smoking outdoors! Can u believe that?
I enjoy eating out and pub sometimes but each time my clothes, face and hair stinks like hell with tobacco smell.

Anonymous, Aug 18 at 11:48 pm :

Here in Japan it is more offensive to talk on the phone in a train than smoke in a playground while pushing your kid on the swing. That’s messed up. The Japanese are such polite people, until they smoke, it seems. Yes, that’s a generalisation, but in my 10 years here, there has been little improvement. The streets are still covered in butts and it’s still near impossible to escape passive smoking when going out. Heck, smokers smoke NEXT TO no-smoking signs. At stations, the signs have time limits, banning smoking ONLY during rush hour! Where I work, the restaurant staff downstairs smoke at the stair well, filling it with smoke and affecting myself and my clients. This nation has no real understanding about smoking. It is well and trully normalised.