Declaration Against Smoking and Tobacco Use
The Japanese Cancer Association’s Declaration Against Smoking and Tobacco Use, revised on August 1, 2022
Numerous studies inside and outside Japan have shown that tobacco is the most significant preventable factor in cancer, and it has also been made clear that tobacco does not only affect smokers themselves as passive smoking causes lung cancer in the people around them. Moreover, there are many diseases that tobacco is involved in such as heart disease and respiratory disease, not just cancer, and they result in the loss of about 140,000 lives each year in Japan.
In Western countries, where rates of smoking declined early, declines in cancer mortality rates, which are strongly related to smoking, are being observed some decades later. Although Japan is behind Europe and the United States, smoking-related cancer mortality rates have also shifted to a decreasing trend as the rate of smoking has decreased in recent years. Decreases in the incidence rate of smoking-related cancers such as lung and bladder cancer support this trend.
Tobacco regulations and measures have also been implemented in Japan. The Health Promotion Act was enforced in 2003, and the obligation to make efforts to prevent passive smoking was stipulated in Article 25. The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) took effect in 2005, and incorporated into the general obligations of Article 5, Paragraph 3 “... [states] shall act to protect [public health policies] from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.” The Cancer Control Act was enforced in 2007. In Health Japan 21 (2nd term) and the Second Basic Plan to Promote Cancer Control Programs, formulated in 2012, the Japanese government set target values for reductions in smoking rates for the first time. In 2018, a goal aimed at zero passive smoking was also established for “the realization of a society without unwanted passive smoking.” Given the trends in the mortality and incidence rates, there is no room for doubt that the greater promotion of tobacco controls and measures by the national government will produce further results.
The noteworthy trend of recent years is the appearance of new types of tobacco products, represented by heated tobacco products. Advertising and sales promotion activities are being implemented that may invite the misunderstanding that heated tobacco causes less damage to health than conventional tobacco products. However, like traditional cigarettes, heated tobacco products indeed contain carcinogens and other toxic substances, and adverse impacts on health are concerning. It has become clear globally that the tobacco industry has concealed the risks of health damage and addiction, and has harmed the health of consumers intentionally. Given this history, it is conceivable that efforts premised on the fact that new tobacco products are also harmful are required. The WHO has also stated that all tobacco products pose a health risk.
The Japanese Cancer Association announced its Declaration Against Smoking and Tobacco Use in 2003, ahead of other academic societies in Japan. Subsequently, the Japanese Cancer Association established a Smoking Countermeasures Committee and has conducted a wide range of activities concerning countermeasures against smoking in Japan in cooperation with other related academic societies. This 2022 revision is based on the current situation surrounding smoking and cancer, and indicates the current determination of the Japanese Cancer Association with regard to tobacco problems.
