1. Introduction
Passive smoking refers to involuntary exposure to and inhaling of tobacco smoke in the environment. Acute health effects of passive smoking on non-smokers have been recognized to include symptoms such as tears, nasal congestion, and headache, and physiological reactions such as restricted breathing, increased heart rate, and blood vessel contraction. Concerning long-term effects, epidemiological studies have indicated risks to lung cancer and respiratory diseases. There is a need for the issue of passive smoking to be addressed in terms of public health. It has also been indicated that passive smoking causes discomfort, stress, and other mental and psychological effects to non-smokers.
In the 1988 "Opinion Survey Concerning Problems of Health and Smoking" conducted by the Prime Minister's Office, 65% of the respondents said that smoking causes them discomfort. Among non-smokers, the figure was 77%. Also, 52% of all respondents and 60% of non-smokers said that smoking areas should be further restricted.
Smoking restriction measures must be actively promoted, from the standpoint of improving the environment by eliminating or reducing the health effects and discomfort caused to non-smokers by passive smoking in public places which are used by an indefinitely large number of people out of social necessity.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare held the Committee on Tobacco Action Plan in October 1994 to discuss a Tobacco Action Plan which would become the basis for comprehensive tobacco-related measures in the future. A report was issued in March 1995. In April of the same year, the Council of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated to the Minister of Health and Welfare its view that the report of the Committee on Tobacco Action Plan was appropriate as a plan to guide future tobacco-related measures. It also reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). The plan indicated that "Smoking restriction measures in Japan should be supported by such means as indicating basic concepts and items for consideration concerning guidelines for smoking restriction in public places, with regard to the execution of smoking restriction measures, according to the nature and circumstances of the facility."
In response, the Committee conducted a study on Guidelines for Smoking Restriction in Public Places. In selecting the public places to be taken up, the Committee considered the places indicated in the opinion survey mentioned above as locations where smoking should be restricted, in addition to the places for which the Tobacco Action Plan recommended that smoking restriction measures be promoted.
In order to make the Guidelines for Smoking Restriction in Public Places viable, repeated and wide-ranging discussions were held by members from various fields, including scholars, workplace representatives, and persons related to facilities, and their views are summarized in this report.