Japan: Smoking Rates Continue to Decline
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Smoking rates for men and women in Japan continued to decline in 2022, according to health ministry survey data, reports Kyodo News.
The male smoking rate fell 3.4 percentage points compared to 2019 data, and the female smoking rate fell 1.1 percentage points.
The survey classified smokers as respondents who said they either “smoke every day” or “sometimes have days where I smoke.” The rate of tobacco use was highest among men in their 40s (34.6 percent) followed by men in their 50s (32.6 percent) and men in their 30s (29.9 percent). The rate of tobacco use among women was highest for those in their 50s (12 percent) followed by those in their 40s (11.6 percent) and those in their 30s (9 percent). Almost all age groups showed a drop in usage from the 2019 data.
In April 2020, the revised health promotion law came into effect in Japan, banning smoking indoors at many locations and requiring businesses that allow indoor smoking to install separate spaces for smokers.