Smoking is bad for your health, but despite this, more than 8 million smokers die each year as a result of smoking. Of these, 7 million are direct smokers and 1.3 million are ive smokers. The data is from the month of July 2023 released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Also according to the WHO, smoking is responsible for the main causes of morte, disease and poverty around the globe. There are 1.3 billion smokers in the world. In Japan, on average 20% of the population is a smoker.
The use of employment. Many companies prefer not to hire smokers due to the amount of times they are absent from work to smoke. But a Japanese company did something different: it offered six additional vacation days to non-smoking employees to compensate for the break given to smokers. The initiative aims to combat smoking.
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Non-smoking initiative
A public relations agency in Japan, when it launched the initiative in 2018, had 30 smokers in the company. Some would go out about seven to ten times during work hours to smoke. To make the decision to benefit non-smokers, the Human Resources Department realized that each smoker takes an average of 15 minutes to smoke each cigarette.
With that, the company concluded that absences throughout the workday represent less production, so they decided to reward those who stay longer working by giving six extra vacation days compared to smokers.
In some streets of Tóquio it is forbidden to smoke, but it is allowed inside many bars and restaurants. With the initiative in the company, four employees soon at the beginning became ex-smokers.
4 interesting facts about smokers in Japan
1 - Men smoke more than women
The average for Japanese men who smoke is 30%, while for women it is 10%.
2 - Smoking age
In Japan, the minimum age to smoke is 20 years, as well as for the consumption of alcoholic beverages. But despite this, the number of young people who smoke is lower than that of the elderly.
3 - Places for smokers
It is prohibited to smoke in the streets of Japan, but this cannot lead to someone's arrest. However, there are specific areas for smoking, especially in busier places like train stations. In restaurants, it is common to smoke where alcoholic beverages are served, such as bars or small restaurants called izakaya. In some cafes, there are specific areas inside for smokers. But in regular restaurants, it is not always easy to find these areas.
4 - Price of cigarettes
Cigarettes in Japan cost an average of 460 yen. They are usually sold in convenience stores. It is also possible to buy from cigarette vending machines that are common in Tokyo. To do this, it is necessary to present “cartao of residence”.
