Proclamation against Tobacco at the Japanese Society for Hygiene

The Japanese Society for Hygiene is part of the Japanese Association of Medical Science. We are an academic research group that aim for the comprehensive understanding of human, environment, and health, face the research subject of “what is human health as a social existence” while seeing from DNA and cell level to group society in human body. As the objective of the Japanese Association of Medical Science is “promoting science related to medicine and research in technology as well as making contribution to increasing the level of medicine and medical care” the Japanese Society for Hygiene” not only explore academic truth, but also have the mission of enhancing the maintenance of human health by taking the role of integrated study of hygiene to increase the level of medicine and medical care.

When considering such objectives and missions of the Japanese Society for Hygiene, we believe that it is justly to show a certain attitude toward tobacco, which is the largest avoidable factor that prohibit health today. WHO announced that smoking is related to not only cancer, but also the majority of the major cause of death in the world. In the 20th century, it was a cause of death for 10 million people, and it is announced that 100 million people will lose their lives due to smoking in the 21st century. In this country, it was calculated that at least 3 million people were lost due to smoking in the 20th century and now, it is said that 0.2 million people’s deaths per year are related to smoking. The Japanese Society for Hygiene have had academic research about various problems related to the toxicity of tobacco smoke and smoking. As a society, we declare that we will move forward in those activity and promote the activity that will eliminate the damage in human health by tobacco as a disaster caused by human.

Specifically, the Japanese Society for Hygiene will utilize the characteristics of integrated study of hygiene and not only promote the research about the toxicity of tobacco smoke and smoking, but also subject the social system, structure, and organization, infrastructure in other words, that make human society depend on such hazardous material and spared the damage, and propose how we should intervene and behave based on the research results. When promoting this activity, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) issued in February 2005, ratified from 2004 in this country is a great reference. This convention mentions the measures other than pricing such as increasing the price of tobacco and tobacco tax for reducing the demand for tobacco, reduce the exposure to tobacco smoke for others, prohibiting cosmetic packaging of tobacco products, mandatory display of hazardous warning, education, about the damage caused by tobacco, talks, training, increasing the public interest, limiting and prohibiting advertisement, sales promotion, and support for tobacco, measures against tobacco addiction, and promotion of non-smoking environment. Also, for reducing the supply of tobacco, they suggest regulating illegal tobacco products, prohibiting the sales to minors, and promotion of a business transformation from tobacco related business.

Furthermore, in addition to having measures to protect human health and conservation of the environment, they go further into prohibiting the image strategy such as “smoking clean”, which was tobacco companies’ way of improving the social recognition.

The Japanese Society for Hygiene will actively support these activities determined by FCTC, verify it academically, and take part in activities to restrict tobacco further. Also, for the issue of our country, we work with the government and related institution on the immediate abolition of “Tobacco Business Law”, which provide “the development of tobacco industry” and restriction of activities at tobacco companies such as Japan Tobacco, the majority of whose stock is owned by the Japanese government. Furthermore, we follow the Protection Against Second-Hand Smoke (Article 8), which is promised to be implemented within 5 years of the enactment of FTCT and demand the nation that the regulation of non-smoking throughout the country is enforced.

The Japanese Society for Hygiene require that individual member to participate in this activity and declare that we will cooperate with other society and organization to eradicate health damage from tobacco.

(From the 80th conference of the Japanese Society for Hygiene held on May 10th, 2010)