[Event Report] World No Tobacco Day Evening Seminar -Tobacco Countermeasure: Lessons Learned and Scientific Evidence for Future Actions-

date : 7/28/2017

Currently, the central government is focusing on the revision of the Health Promotion Act to strengthen passive smoking prevention measures. Tokyo Metropolitan Government also agreed to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo with a Tobacco Free Environment.
Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) first convened an Urgent Session “Critical Issues in Tobacco Policy – Promotion of Health and Price Policy” in 2009. Since then, we have continuously been proposing policy recommendations and working to disseminate information related to tobacco policies based on discussions with a range of stakeholders.

Therefore, in accordance with World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), we convened an evening seminar on May 30, aimed to create a future direction for tobacco countermeasure through multi-stakeholders discussion with global and domestic views.

With the policy momentum changing the current environment of tobacco countermeasure, lessons learned from the political issues in the past and present cutting-edge scientific evidence were shared. With intensive discussion of prominent speakers and audiences, we summarized points to be discussed in the future.

■Discussion and Next Steps for the Future

In Japan, approximately 15,000 people per year die from diseases associated with second-hand smoking.
Extra national health care costs related to smoking totaled about 140 million yen in 2014.
Tobacco control is necessary as a public health measure. There is sufficient scientific evidence supporting tobacco control. It should be considered a part of essential public infrastructure alongside infrastructure like sewage systems and pollution control measures.
Second-hand smoking measures are public health policies that affect people’s lives, so the focus of any debate on such measures should not just be on taxes and economic development.
There must be an operative penalty system in place in the future to support anti-smoking measures and ensure that they are fully functional.

■Seminar Overview
Date & Time: 19:00-21:00, Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Venue: Conference Room 701, Toshi Center Hotel Tokyo
Organizer: Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI)
Participants: Journalists, policy makers, health experts, academics, health providers, private sectors, patient advocates
Program: (*Honorifics and titles omitted, in no particular order.)
19:00 – 19:10 Opening Remarks

Yuriko Koike (Governor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government)

19:10 – 20:15 Panelist Discussion (names listed in no particular order)
Panelists

Ataru Igarashi (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo)

Yusuke Tsugawa* (Research Associate, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Shigefumi Matsuzawa (Member of the House of Councillors / Former Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture)

Junko Mihara (Member of the House of Councillors)

Moderator