If you just scan the headlines, like so many others do these days, you would be under the impression Japan has taken a positive step in the right direction towards banning tobacco advertising. on the other hand if you where to actually read any of the articles you would know this to be totally false.

The headlines were,

�Japan to ban tobacco ads in public places�
�Japan gets tough on smoking advertisements�
�Japanese lawmakers look to crack whip on tobacco ads�
�JAPAN: Tobacco ads to go up in smoke?�

What the headlines should have read is "Japanese government gives into tobacco industry yet again"

The Washington times reads,

�The Japanese government will impose a ban on tobacco ads in public places such as train and bus stations, the Mainichi newspaper said Monday. The goal is to prevent minors from acquiring the habit, officials at the Finance Ministry and the Tobacco Institute of Japan said. Beginning in April, cigarette advertisements will be banned in public areas except for tobacco shops and designated smoking areas. Advertising on transport vehicles such as trains, buses and taxis will still be permitted, but ads on television, radio and the Internet will be banned, except for advertisements exclusively aimed at adults. However, advertisements designed to improve smoking manners and prevent youth smoking are free from the ban, officials said.�

So wait, what is actually being banned here?? Advertising in public areas except for the actual train (every 3rd ad is for a tobacco company) radio and the internet? I can close the pop up ad but still have to stair at the Marlboro banner in my face for my 3 hour commute every day. But what I find most disturbing is the fact that this ban is not being regulated by the ministry of health but by the ministry of finance and the tobacco institute, the same ministry of finance that still owns 2/3 of Japan tobacco. Isn't that like letting the auto industry dictate car safety regulations or allowing pharmaceutical companies to approve drugs that hit the market?

If the ministry of health has no say in this then what the hell is it for in the first place. The leading cause of death in Japan is cancer with lung cancer at the top of the list. In 2001 55,028 (stats from the Japan Almanac 2003 published by the Asahi Shimbun) Japanese died of lung cancer alone not to mention stomach, liver, colon and rectum cancer, all of which are caused by tobacco. If this doesn�t fall into the mandate of the Ministry of Health then nothing will.

The fact is that the tobacco industry, namely JT (world's third-largest tobacco group), is dictating the laws of the land to the government which is by the way it�s biggest shareholder and the media is just completely fallen asleep on the issue, and try to present the picture that the government is cracking down on the industry, which if you look at the facts is just laughable.

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