Smoking incidence down

The prevalence of smoking among Japanese people aged 20 years or older has fallen below 20 percent for the first time on record, according to a story in The Japan Times citing the results of a government survey published yesterday.

The fall in smoking prevalence was said to have given a boost to a health ministry proposal to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces.

During the survey, 19.8 percent of respondents said they smoked, a figure that was down 1.8 percentage points from that of a 2013 survey.

The downward trend was said to have been observed in most age groups and in respect of both men and women.

The percentage of people who said they smoke every day was down by 2.4 percentage points to 29.1 percent in the case of men, and down by 0.9 of a percentage point to 8.6 percent in the case of women.

The prevalence of smoking, including occasional smoking, among men in their 20s saw the biggest drop since 2013: 5.4 percentage points to 31.1 percent. The figure for men in their 20s in 2001 was 55.6 percent.

The group with the highest smoking prevalence is that comprising men in their 30s, 39.9 percent of whom are smokers, while the group with the lowest smoking prevalence is that comprising women aged 80 and older, 1.7 percent of whom smoke.

The Times reported that, as Japan prepares to welcome more foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had been promoting a bill that would strengthen measures protecting people from second-hand smoke.