The World Health Organization (WHO), in coordination with the Japan Cancer Society initiated a public campaign to encourage employers and workers alike to work together in order to create a smoke free work place in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Considering that Japan is currently hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup and preparing for the much anticipated 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games, the World Health Organization (WHO) aspires to emphasize or highlight the necessity of abolishing second hand smoke in public areas.
In this regard, a number of Japanese firms and corporate establishments have already expressed their support to this program such as but not limited to Yahoo! Japan, Sompo Himawari Life Insurance, SoftBank, Autobacs Seven, Chikaranomoto Holdings, and Rohto Pharmaceutical.
The event launching the said campaign was held last October 15, 2019 at the National Cancer Center of Tokyo. It was attended by distinguished guests and personalities including the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike and the World Health Organization Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Takeshi Kasai.
According to Dr. Kasai, “Tobacco use is one of the world’s leading preventable causes of death. It kills 8 million people globally each year, including 1.2 million non-smokers who are exposed to smoke. In Japan, second-hand smoke alone kills 15,000 people every year. For businesses, smoking raises operational costs by adversely affecting workers’ health and productivity.”
In addition, Dr. Kasai emphasized that “With Japan in the global spotlight as the host of world-class sporting events, smoking should no longer be a question of manners; a 100% smoke-free environment is a global health standard. Japan’s citizens – and visitors to the country – deserve that protection.”
The international campaign on smoke free working environment was launched at the National Cancer Center because it was also where Dr. Takashi Hirayama introduced the world’s first research project regarding passing smoking and lunch cancer.
Reference: WHO and Japan Cancer Society launch campaign to create smoke-free workplaces in Japan
