Opinion Thank you for smoking By Joseph LaPenta	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
喫煙者よ、ありがとう 喫煙は本人の健康を害するだけでなく周りにいる人たちにも間接喫煙の害を与えることで問題視されてきた。しかし先日ある調査で、喫煙者は社会に対して多大な貢献をしていることが具体的に分かり、話題を呼んでいる。

"THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING" is a sign seen throughout the English-speaking world. It is a polite way of saying: "No smoking here." But according to a recent study by the Philip Morris Companies Inc., we should all thank smokers for smoking.

The study was done for the Czech government and concluded that smokers save the state millions of dollars by dying prematurely. Smokers pay taxes and contribute to retirement plans, but a large number do not live to realize the benefits. Early death means lower costs for health care. It also means savings on the care of retirees and costs of housing for the elderly.

These are just some of the benefits that result from the shorter average life spans of smokers. While premature death may be a tragedy for the individual and his or her family, the report showed clearly that it has real financial benefits for the state.

Most smokers say they smoke because they want to, not because they are addicted to the drug, nicotine. They also claim to be aware of the health dangers, so why bother them with more bad news? In this case, ignorance is not only bliss, it may also contribute to easing the problems of Japan's "aging society."

Writers in this column have repeated the well-known facts: Japan's birthrate is falling; there are fewer and fewer young people to support the aging population; Japan's traditional xenophobia will not permit much immigration, etc. Obviously, if you cannot increase the population of young people, why not consider other options, like a voluntary decrease in the number of older people.

Now I would never suggest that there is some kind of conspiracy to kill off a large number of older Japanese. But let us look at government policies (or the lack of policies) on smoking from the point of view of results.

Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has published a study (Feb. 2002) of male smokers who died from mainly cancer-related causes. It concluded that "...not smoking could have prevented one in five men from dying early." Smoking is also a major factor in heart disease and emphysema. This is old news in most of the world. Yet government officials and lawmakers continue to allow tobacco companies to promote the sale of a product that they know kills people — at least 95,000 a year.

Just recently, the government decided not to raise taxes on cigarettes. Cheap cigarettes encourage smoking. There is no official anti-smoking campaign. As a result, many Japanese do not know that breathing smoke (passive smoking) harms people who do not smoke. They are also ignorant of the fact that there are no real health benefits from "low tar" cigarettes. More ignorance, more bliss. And more smoking.

The warning on cigarette packs reads: THERE IS A RISK OF DAMAGE TO YOUR HEALTH, SO LET'S BE CAREEFUL NOT TO SMOKE TOO MUCH. What is the risk? What kind of damage? How much is too much? It doesn't say.

There may not be a conspiracy but at the very least, the government is doing little, if anything, to limit the number of early deaths from smoking. Two results are more tax revenue and fewer pensioners.

So dear smokers, I appreciate your sacrifice. Thank you for smoking, but please don't do it around me.

Shukan ST: March 15, 2002

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