Abstract
Objective: This study investigates consciousness of the health dangers caused by passive smoking and
attitudes to no-smoking policies in Japan compared with the situation overseas. Previous reports have
indicated that (1）No smoking in restaurants is common in the U.S. whereas separate smoking areas are common
in Japan; and (2）the Japanese have less knowledge of the health dangers of passive smoking than the
Americans, but interest in it is higher in Japan than in the U.S. This study further analyzes data on
individual smoking status and investigates whether there are any differences in consciousness of the health
dangers of passive smoking and attitudes to no-smoking policies according to smoking status.
Methods: A survey was conducted from February 3, 2015 to February 12, 2015, targeting 1,000 Japanese and
1,000 Americans.
Results: Japanese non-smokers had less knowledge of the dangers of passive smoking than Japanese smokers.
Japanese non-smokers also had less knowledge than American non-smokers, indicating that Japanese non-smokers
had remarkably poor knowledge of the hazards of passive smoking. In addition, although Japanese smokers had
more knowledge than Japanese non-smokers, they had less knowledge than American ex-smokers. Further, we
found that Japanese smokers rated the lowest score for the question, “Do you want the Olympic host city in
2020, Tokyo, to develop measures or ordinances of legally binding passive smoking prevention, as done by
past Olympic host cities?”
Conclusion: Japanese non-smokers had remarkably poor knowledge of the dangers of passive smoking but had a
high interest in it. Japanese smokers showed a tendency to have less knowledge and less interest than
American smokers. From the aspect of individual smoking status, sufficient information on passive smoking is
not provided in Japan, indicating that information on the health dangers of passive smoking needs to be
provided through a knowledge- or interest-based approach, depending on smoking status.
