Another smoking paradise depends on fresh air: smoking is decreasing in Japan

For a long time Japan was considered a smoker’s paradise, but that time is over. In Japan, as few as one in four men smoke, compared to about 20 years ago, half of all men smoked, according to Health Ministry data published by Kyodo news agency on Friday.

According to this report, smoking rates for men fell another 3.4 percentage points to 25.4 percent last year compared to the previous survey in 2019, while that for women fell by 1.1 points to 7.7 percent.

The drop is due to increased health awareness and a law to curb secondhand smoke, it said. Smoking was still allowed in public places in Japan until the 2000s.

While smoking bans were already underway in Europe, most bars and restaurants in the world’s third-largest economy, ahead of Germany, were still happily smoking. But for about a decade, smokers in Japan have been declining.

A revised Health Promotion Act came into effect in 2020, banning indoor smoking in many places. Companies that allow smoking indoors must set up separate areas for this. The consumption of tobacco – and alcohol – is only allowed in Japan from the age of 20.

A Health Department study found that tobacco use among men in their 40s peaked at 34.6 percent last year. Of the women, 12 percent were in their fifties. However, according to this report, nearly all age groups recorded a decline from the previous 2019 survey, it said. (sda/dpa)