Objective: The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control policy to prevent passive smoking requires a full ban on smoking in certain public areas. However, in Japan, no-smoking ordinance was established only in the Kanagawa and Hyogo prefectures. Therefore, a survey was conducted to compare the awareness of health damage caused to passive smokers between Japanese and American population.
Method: A survey was conducted from February 3, 2015 to February 12, 2015 targeting 1,000 Japanese and 1,000 Americans.
Results: In most restaurants, bars, and other public places in Japan, a separate smoking area is more common (65%, p ＜ 0.001) than a complete ban on smoking (11%, p ＜ 0.001). On the other hand, in the United States, no-smoking areas (60%, p ＜ 0.001) are more common than separate smoking areas (28%, p ＜ 0.001). In Japan, the knowledge of health damage caused by passive smoking is lower than that in the United States; however, the interest level was higher. Seventy-nine percent of both Japanese and the United States respondents expected a no-smoking ordinance at the Tokyo Olympic, Paralympic games.
Conclusion: No-smoking areas are common in restaurants, bars, and other similar places in the United States. However, in Japan, separate smoking areas are common. Compared with the United States, in Japan, the concern about health damage caused by passive smoking is higher but the level of knowledge is lower; therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the transmission of information in Japan about health damage caused by passive smoking.

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Abstract
Purpose: Desire to quit smoking is much the same among patients diagnosed with mental illness as in the general population; however, no active support measures are currently in place to encourage smoking cessation in such patients. This study aims to clarify changes in smoking awareness among patients with mental illness taking part in anti-smoking health education, as well as factors inhibiting smoking cessation and it is to consider how leading to anti-smoking.
Method: Six subjects were chosen from among a group of people who were registered as outpatients at a social rehabilitation facility, and who had been diagnosed with mental illness, were habitual smokers with a desire to quit, and were able to take part in a health education program conducted by the researchers over five sessions. A qualitative descriptive study was carried out using the KJ method to interpret the transcribed content of statements made by the participating subjects in group sessions.
Results: Eleven groups to explain changes in smoking awareness among patients diagnosed with mental illness and factors inhibiting smoking cessation were extracted. Five groups were extracted for smoking awareness, such as “I think that it might be impossible to quit smoking if you have a mental illness” to “having a mental illness makes it quitting smoking worthwhile.” Six groups were extracted for factors inhibiting smoking cessation, such as “I think that that cigarettes have a medicinal role, and help to alleviate side effects.”
Conclusion: The results suggest that to support smoking cessation efforts by patients with mental illness, encouragement should be provided not just to the individual patients to enable them to take confident steps toward quitting smoking, but also to the medical personnel providing patient support to allow them to develop a better understanding of smoking cessation behavior.

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