It’s been four years since Japan banned indoor smoking in large restaurants, offices and many other public places. As the world prepares to celebrate World No Tobacco Day on Friday, the debate over passive smoking is growing in a crucial space that remains unregulated: private homes.
The revised health promotion law that came into effect in April 2020 does not address passive smoking in living spaces – a problem in Japan, where many people live in multi-unit apartment buildings or small houses crammed together with little space between them.
Exposure to secondhand smoke wafting from a neighbor’s balcony can cause serious health problems. It has long been known that passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and other diseases in non-smokers.
