 Comment
Mr.Kyosen Ohashi, known as a TV host and writer, also known runs his 'OK
Gift Shop' in Canada,
Australia and New Zealand, made a comment on the Kanagawa ordinance to
regulate smoking in
a public indoor space. I feel it the same way to that Ohashi pointed out.
Now, almost all advanced
countries have enforced a total smoking ban in an enclosed space in restaurants
and bars.
However, the Governor Matsuzawa dared to choose the measures to divide
a public indoor space
into the smoking and the nonsmoking. He also exempted about 70% of small-size
eating industries
from the prefecture law.
For the persons that know the smoking restriction of public space, all
actual situations in Japan are
quite abnormal, as far as a ban to put a light on cigarette. There are
so many tobacco-bending
machines in streets, which is the world's largest, highly apart from other
countries. In Japan, the
main building of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Japan provides ashtrays
on a desk in rooms.
Government'policy is to follow the rules of Kanagawa. Department of Health,
Labor and Welfare
of Japan allowed to provide a smoking room in the area in the main working
place. Further,
the department office announced to assist the cost for the construction
of indoor room for smokers.
Officer also approved a working space, if the concentration of tobacco-smoke
is
under 0.15mg/1 cubic meter. They are completely ignoring the fact that
there is no safe level
for the cigarette side-smoke.
All federal policies to ease the smoking restriction came from the local
ordinance setting in Kanagawa.
Many prefecture council members and members of the Diet are smokers, and
the majority opposed
an upright smoking ban in an indoor space. Governor Matsuzawa is the non-smoker.
However, he took
priority to 'establish the first anti-smoke law in the while country',
rather than to 'protect all people
from the adverse tobacco-smoke'. So, he accepted the policy that tobacco
companies claimed.
If the Governor abandoned and gave up the system separating smoking from
nonsmoking, until all
members agree to accept a total smoking ban, he could do so. Nobody would
blame his action to go
back to the start line. Rather, many people would support with our best
to improve this unfavorable
condition. However, unfortunately, he did not.
A tourist from America, Europa and Oceania will lose their heart, since
many restaurants are
smoky with cigarette-smoke, that is harmful to human health. The establishment
of the undesirable
bad Kanagawa anti-smoke law cannot be undone. Former Governor Matsuzawa
is now a member
of the Yoshimoto Kyogyo Co., a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate,
that employs most
of Japan's comedy talent.
The article is written in April 2009, and revised in November 2011, by
Junhaku Miyamoto, M.D., PhD.
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飲食店が喫煙規制に反対する理屈
「今週の遺言」大橋巨泉
2009年4月執筆 2011年11月加筆 2016年7月加筆 2020年8月一部修正 医学博士 宮本順伯
