No.98 Enforcement of passive smoking measures

This year, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is a need to further improve etiquette regarding tobacco, and on April 1, 2020, laws and metropolitan ordinance regulations will come into full effect.
The government partially revised the Health Promotion Act on July 25, 2018, and has implemented it in stages. The purpose is to: (1) eliminate unwanted second-hand smoke; (2) give special consideration to children and patients whose health is greatly affected by second-hand smoke; and (3) implement measures for each type of facility and location. is shown.
The ``regulations to strive to prevent unwanted passive smoking'', which are the responsibility of the national and local governments, came into effect on January 24, 2019, and the ``regulations for schools, hospitals, child welfare facilities, etc. and administrative agencies'' The "No Smoking Regulations on the Site" will come into effect on July 1st of the same year, and the "No Smoking Regulations in Facilities Used by Many Other People" will come into effect on April 1st, 2020, with full enforcement.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government promulgated the Tokyo Metropolitan Passive Smoking Prevention Ordinance on July 4, 2018, and has implemented it in stages. This ordinance aims to prevent the negative effects of passive smoking on the health of Tokyo residents.
The regulations in the metropolitan ordinance are basically in accordance with the Health Promotion Law, but the metropolitan government has created its own regulations that are stricter than the law in order to protect children under the age of 20, who are particularly vulnerable to health effects, and employees who are difficult to prevent from passive smoking. I'm setting the rules.
The challenge for the full implementation will be how each restaurant responds. As a general rule, restaurants do not allow smoking indoors, and if smoking is allowed, they must set up a ``smoking room (no eating or drinking allowed)'' or ``designated tobacco smoking room (you can eat and drink while smoking heated cigarettes only)'' that meet the standards. It doesn't have to be.
In addition, transitional measures have been taken for existing restaurants (those already open as of April 1, 2020) to ease this for a certain period of time. Restaurants with guest rooms of 100 square meters or less and operated by individuals or small and medium-sized businesses with capital or investment of 50 million yen or less may allow smoking in all or part of the restaurant. The metropolitan ordinance further adds to this condition that there are no employees.
By the way, as of September 1, 2019, restaurants will be required to display the smoking status inside the restaurant.
For details on the regulations of laws and metropolitan ordinances, please check the "Tokyo Metropolitan Passive Smoking Prevention Ordinance" on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's website, or contact the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Passive Smoking Prevention Countermeasures Consultation Desk (telephone 0570-069690). In Inagi City, the ``Inagi City Ordinance Concerning Smoking Restrictions on Streets'' came into effect on April 1, 2018. There is a provision that violators of prohibited acts stipulated in this ordinance will be subject to a fine of 2,000 yen. This penalty provision was supposed to start applying after a certain period of notification, but in line with the enforcement of the recent law and Tokyo ordinance, it will start applying from April 1, 2020.
By the way, the current content of tobacco regulations has been reached through many years of debate and intense conflict between pros and cons.
In Europe and America, the basic idea is that smoking is completely prohibited indoors and free outdoors, and this seems to have spread to Asia and has become the global standard.
In Japan, while indoor smoking areas are thoroughly separated, restrictions have also been put in place outdoors in places where people gather, and outdoor regulations have been institutionalized before indoor regulations.
Although there are opinions that criticize Japan regarding these differences with overseas regulations, I believe that the introduction of regulations with penalties is itself a major step forward and should be praised.
We believe that the content of the regulations will continue to be reviewed in line with changes in the social situation, so we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.