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煙はどこへ行った?
ニューヨークやロンドンでは、法律や条令によって喫煙に対して厳しいルールを設けている。一方、こと日本(東京)に限っては、そうした手段を使うよりも、その文化的価値観をうまく利用することの方が、法制化よりも成果を上げられるのではないかと筆者は考えている。
Where's the smoke?
Coming home from a jazz club in Shinjuku a couple of weeks ago, I noticed something wrong. I couldn't tell what it was at first, but as I got off the train, I realized I didn't stink. Usually at jazz clubs there is so much smoke I can hardly breathe, and the smell seeps in and lingers for days. Recently, though, the general level of smoke in the city seems to be dwindling, and for intriguing reasons.
In other countries, public smoking was banned by law and stopped in one fell swoop. When New York banned indoor smoking in 2002, people suddenly had to step out on a small bit of sidewalk to get their nicotine fix. London smokers puffed away right up to midnight of the day in 2006 when the ban went into effect before stubbing out their last indoor ciggie forever. But in Tokyo, the slower, subtler methods of traditional culture have been employed to gradually reduce public smoking.
First, officials have used the most powerful asset of the city to clamp down — space. JR East first maneuvered smokers into one small smoking area at the end of train platforms, and then, in June this year, shoved them all the way out of every station. Smokers are now corralled into teensy areas far from entrances, hemmed in by bulky planters, big silver ash cans and glass dividers. Pretty soon, smokers will be riding piggyback to squeeze in close enough to get a puff.
One coffee shop I went into had two small tables left for smokers, right next to the bathroom. Meanwhile, international chain coffee shops offer plusher chairs and more legroom in their smoke-free interiors. At the end of a long day in Tokyo, deciding between a comfy chair and a cigarette can be a tough choice.
Where space can't cut down smoking, politeness can. One sign on a restaurant table in Kichijoji asked potential smokers to ask the customers at neighboring tables if it is OK to light up. For most smokers, going outside is simpler than embarrassing themselves by asking total strangers for permission.
The other weapon in the anti-smoking arsenal is advertising. Curiously, many of these posters are in both Japanese and English. The bilingual approach may be a way of softening the message, or maybe teaching smokers English. A recent ad campaign features handsome actors offering warm, manly advice about giving up tobacco. All these anti-smoking messages make me want to give up smoking, and I don't even smoke!
Unlike a lot of nonsmokers, though, I am not really offended by smoke all that much and I wonder if a serious smoking ban, set into law, would even work in Japan. Somehow, I doubt it. Tapping into cultural values just might be more effective.
- stink
- 嫌な臭いがする
- seeps in
- 染み込む
- lingers
- 消えない、残る
- be dwindling
- 次第に減少している
- intriguing
- 興味をそそる
- was banned
- 禁止された
- in one fell swoop
- 一挙に
- step out on 〜
- 〜に出る
- small bit of 〜
- 狭い〜
- sidewalk
- 歩道
- get their nicotine fix
- ニコチンを体に入れる
- puffed away
- ぷかぷか吹かした
- went into effect
- 施行された
- stubbing out 〜
- 〜をもみ消す
- subtler
- 巧妙な
- have been employed
- 用いられてきた
- asset
- 資産
- clamp down
- 取り締まる
- maneuvered 〜 into 〜
- 巧みに〜を〜に追いやった
- shoved 〜 out of 〜
- 〜から〜を強引に追い出した
- (are)corralled into 〜
- 〜に押し込められている
- teensy
- ちっちゃい
- hemmed in by 〜
- 〜に囲まれて
- bulky
- かさの大きな
- glass dividers
- ガラスの仕切り
- be riding piggyback
- 肩車に乗る
- squeeze in
- 押し入る
- get a puff
- 一服する
- plusher
- より豪華な
- legroom
- 足を伸ばせる空間
- smoke-free
- 禁煙の
- comfy
- 快適な( comfortableの省略語)
- politeness
- 礼儀
- light up
- たばこに火を付ける
- embarrassing themselves
- ばつの悪い思いをする
- arsenal
- 兵器庫
- advertising
- 広告
- Curiously
- 不思議なことに
- softening
- を和らげる
- features
- を起用している
- manly
- 男らしい
- am not really offended by smoke all that much
- 煙が大して嫌じゃない
- Tapping into
- を上手く利用すること