Reference materials
1. Present situation of smoking restriction
This is a summary of the materials, statements, and so on which were issued by the Committee on Guidelines for Smoking Restriction in Public Places as reports from various vocational fields.
(1) Present situation at various public places
a. Health facilities (committee member Sugiura)
A 1965 survey (western Japan, Kuragaki et al.)1 found that 68% of male physicians and 19% of female physicians smoked. In 1987 (Ehime Prefecture, Manabe),2 this had fallen to 30% of male physicians and 4% of female physicians. A 1993 survey of 713 medical facilities nationwide by Kobayashi et al.3 found that 73% had placed some restrictions on smoking. Smoking was prohibited in 22% of outpatient waiting rooms, 79% of outpatient examining rooms, 52% of wards and patient rooms, and 31% of cafeterias and coffee shops. Smoking restriction, including complete ban, was being performed in 97% of outpatient waiting rooms, 92% of outpatient examining rooms, 98% of wards and patient rooms, and 57% of cafeterias and coffee shops. Smoking restriction is being performed in all national public hospitals and medical care centers, and in all Tokyo public hospitals and health centers.
b. Educational facilities (committee member Harada)
A survey of all schools within Tokyo, conducted in 1988 by the Metropolitan Education Committee, found that education to prevent smoking was being provided in 22% of elementary schools, 85% of junior high schools, and 91% of high schools. Smoking was prohibited in school buildings in 9% of elementary schools, 9% of junior high schools, and 8% of high schools. Smoking areas had been established in 36% of elementary schools, 30% of junior high schools, and 24% of high schools. According to a 1996 survey of 40 high schools in Tokyo by committee member Harada, 58% had restrictions on smoking in staff rooms, and 88% had restrictions on smoking during meetings. A survey conducted in 1991 by Minowa et al. of the Institute of Public Health found that the greater the proportion of teachers in a junior high school who smoke, the greater the proportion of students who smoke.4
c. Governmental offices (committee member Kikuchi)
The lobby of the Ministry of Health and Welfare has a smoking area with air cleaning equipment, and smoking is prohibited in other areas of the lobby. Smoking is also prohibited in all meeting rooms. In 1995, the Health Promotion and Nutrition Division of the Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare surveyed 90 offices of all the nation's prefectures, cities designated by government ordinance, and so on. It found that 1% of these offices prohibited any smoking in lobbies and the like, while 28% were conducting smoking restriction. Complete smoking restriction was in place in the offices of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Minato Ward, and other local governments. According to statistics on Tokyo Metropolis issued by the Committee on Labor Safety and Health of the Construction Bureau, 68% of Tokyo's wards have established a smoking restriction system, as compared to 39% of the cities and 22% of the towns and villages within Tokyo Metropolis, showing that the cities, towns, and villages are behind in their efforts in this area. All of the facilities in Tokyo Metropolis are to have smoking restriction established by the year 2000.
d. Public transport (committee member Inoue and Hirofumi Tanaka, Vice Director, JAL Service Committee Secretariat)
JR East Railways Co. is moving ahead with smoking restriction based on the needs of passengers. In bullet trains (Shinkansen) with 12 cars, four of the cars with reserved seats are non-smoking and three are smoking. Two of the cars without reserved seats are non-smoking, and two are smoking. Half of the first-class ("Green") car is non-smoking, and the other half is smoking. Smoking restriction is being performed at all 376 stations within the wards and suburbs of Tokyo, and smoking is prohibited in all ordinary trains. In addition, smoking restriction is in place at 133 stations further removed from the center of Tokyo. First-class cars using a smoking restriction device developed jointly with JT, which prevents smoke from flowing away from the smoking seats, have been introduced on some routes. More than 70% of passengers on these routes evaluate these cars positively.
Among airline companies, about 40% of JAL passengers prefer to smoke. However, JAL prohibits smoking on all of its domestic flights which are two hours or less in duration (about 80% of all domestic flights). ANA and JAS divide the airplane cabins into non-smoking and smoking seats. On international flights, all airlines divide their cabins into non-smoking and smoking seats. JAL has established seats for smoking which are back-to-back with the last row of seats in the B747 model, and is developing an air regulation system jointly with JT to further prevent smoke from flowing out into the surrounding area. It intends to apply this system in the future. Among foreign countries, smoking is prohibited on all flights in Canada. In the U.S., smoking is prohibited on domestic flights up to six hours in duration, while some international flights have smoking seats, depending on the destination. In Europe, many domestic flights are non-smoking, but some international flights have smoking seats. China International Airlines of China prohibits smoking on flights up to six hours in duration, and Korean Airlines of South Korea prohibits smoking on flights up to seven hours in duration. Air France provides a smoking area which is separated by a curtain.
e. Financial institutions (committee member Kasuya)
In 1995, the Health Promotion and Nutrition Division of the Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a questionnaire survey of 21 banks by way of the Federation of Bankers Associations of Japan. The responses showed a variety of measures among different banks, with 62% of the banks having established smoking areas and performing smoking restriction, while 10% of the banks had branches with partitions and so on for smoking areas. Daiichi Kangyo Bank has its employees voluntarily refrain from smoking behind the counters during working hours in all of its branches. For customers, smoking is prohibited in the ATM area, and there is smoking restriction in the lobby.
f. Restaurants (committee member Kawaguchi)
At the end of 1994, there were about 1.45 million food and drink establishments in Japan. More than 80% of these had at least five employees, and 81% were run by individual entrepreneurs, a high proportion. Committee member Kawaguchi obtained the cooperation of the Tokyo Environment and Health Association of Restaurant Operators in conducting a questionnaire survey of 213 establishments. The responses showed that 85% of the establishments kept ashtrays available for use. Although just 6% had facilities with separated non-smoking and smoking seats, 60% considered that non-smoking and smoking seats should be separated in the future. The most popular reason for opinions against smoking restriction, at 37%, was that the establishment is too small or that there are not many seats for patrons. In 22% of restaurants in Tokyo, air purification devices were in place. Several chains, such as family restaurants, provided non-smoking seats.
g. Lodging facilities (committee members Kurasawa and Kobayashi)
Nationwide, there are 80,000 to 100,000 lodging facilities, 6,633 of which are hotels. In 1995, the Health Promotion and Nutrition Division of the Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a questionnaire survey of 12 hotel companies by way of the Japan Hotel Association. It found that 54% of the hotel companies provided non-smoking rooms, non-smoking floors, or the like, and that 27% had smoking areas and conducted smoking restriction in lobbies, 73% in restaurants, and 36% in lounges.
According to a questionnaire survey of 20,000 lodging facilities performed by JTB in 1995, about 3% provide non-smoking rooms, including 0.2% of traditional inns. Some lodging establishments had improved sales by making their entire facilities non-smoking. Problems related to smoking in guest rooms include the remaining odor of tobacco smoke, in addition to the prevention of fires started by cigarettes.
h. Sales (committee member Ishizuka)
In 1995, the Health Promotion and Nutrition Division of the Health Service Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a questionnaire survey of eight department stores in Tokyo by way of the Japan Department Stores Association. Since smoking is prohibited in sales areas by a fire prevention ordinance, all of the stores have smoking restriction. However, the survey found that half of them lack partitions and the like in their smoking areas. Tokyu Department Store has one or two smoking areas on each floor in its general sales areas, but there is almost no separation of these areas. One or two of the cafeterias, coffee shops, and so on provided non-smoking seats, but since these establishments are tenants, the decision is left up to the operators.
(2) Present situation of air cleaning equipment
(committee members Asano and Muramatsu, and Hiroshi Oka, Clean Systems Department, Midori Anzen Co., Ltd. Board of Managing Directors, Japan Air Cleaning Association)
A survey of 500 major companies, conducted by Midori Anzen Co., Ltd. in February 1995, found that 62% of the companies perform smoking restriction according to time. Also, 41% had set up air purification devices in their workplaces, while 33% were considering doing so. There are two types of air purification devices: those that use filters and those that collect dust using electricity.
The most popular method of air purification was the use of electric type air purification devices to clean indoor air. These are either built into the ceiling, hung from the ceiling, or placed on the floor. Smoking restriction devices are placed in strategic spots to take in tobacco smoke at the source, and are of the table type or the counter type. In addition, space type and partition type air circulation control devices blow out air that has been cleaned by air purification devices, forming an air curtain that prevents tobacco smoke from flowing out of the area. The market is still small, and just setting up such equipment can cost ｴ500,000 to ｴ1,500,000, with additional costs for regular maintenance. The cost is a limiting factor in the spread of such equipment.
In under-floor air regulation systems, the double floors used for wiring to office equipment also serve as space for air ducts. Special air vents in the floor send air into the room, while air is taken in at the ceiling. Such systems have already been introduced in many office buildings. Smoke has less tendency to spread within a room and can be eliminated more rapidly than with the conventional type of system in which air is blown out at the ceiling.
The Law for Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings establishes standards for the management of environmental hygiene in certain buildings (ambient dust of 0.15 mg/m3 or less, carbon monoxide content of 10 ppm or less, etc.). Although smoking does not generally raise the carbon monoxide level above this limit, it tends more easily to raise the ambient dust level above the limit. Also, concerning the acute effects of passive smoking, it has been reported that when the concentration of carbon monoxide is 2.5 ppm higher indoors than outdoors because of passive smoking, 20% to 30% of people feel discomfort within 40 to 60 minutes.5
References:
1) Kuragaki et al.: Nihon Iji Shimpo, 2273, 1967
2) Toyohiko Manabe, Ehime Ken Ishi Kaiho, 605, 1987
3) Yumiko Kobayashi et al.: Daiwa Shoken Health Foundation, Kenkyu Gyoseki Shu No. 19, 1993
4) Masumi Minowa et al.: Chugakusei no Kitsuen (Smoking by middle school students), a report on a nationwide survey of smoking by youth. Kokuritsu Koshu Eiseiin, 1992
5) Muramatu, T. et al.: An experimental study on irritation and annoyance due to passive smoking. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health, 51(4), 305-317, 1983