Japan to Defer Tighter Rules on Heated Tobacco Products

Tokyo, July 8 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry plans to defer, for the time being, tighter regulations on heated tobacco products that have been under consideration as part of its review of measures against secondhand smoke, informed sources said Wednesday. At a meeting of an expert panel to be held on Thursday, the ministry will present a proposal that does not include tightening regulations to the same extent as for cigarettes, while adding, “We will continue to conduct research.” Meanwhile, the ministry will propose a notification system requiring operators of bars and other smoking-oriented establishments, to notify local governments. As five years have passed since the enforcement in April 2020 of the revised health promotion law, the expert panel has been considering a review of measures against secondhand smoke. It will compile a proposal as early as this summer. The revised law basically prohibits smoking at restaurants and hotels. People are allowed to smoke cigarettes only in smoking rooms, while eating while smoking is banned. Special measures allowing eating in smoking rooms are applied to heated tobacco products as the revised law states that the health effect of the product remains unclear. Meanwhile, a suprapartisan group of lawmakers Wednesday submitted a proposal calling for tighter regulations on heated tobacco products to health minister Kenichiro Ueno. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]