Category: Japan

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Japan’s latest all-round smoking ban doesn’t ban vapes

Japan has issued a national smoking ban recently, luckily, the heat not burn and vapes will not be affected. And it may lead to a new significant vape growth in Japan.

The new smoking control measures will cover 84% of restaurants and bars throughout Tokyo, and 45% of restaurants and bars nationwide will be affected by the ban.

This measure will completely prohibit the use of traditional cigarettes in designated places, including kindergartens, schools and day care centers, but universities, hospitals and government offices will still retain designated outdoor smoking areas.

Will the ban counter-promote the abuse of new types of tobacco?

Will the ban counter-promote the abuse of new types of tobacco?

The Japanese government has indicated that “safer alternatives, such as heat not burn products and vapes, will not be subject to this regulation,” a Tokyo government official said, and users will be able to use their vape devices normally.

Although electronic cigarettes do not contain nicotine and the damage caused by heat not burn devices is lower than that of traditional cigarettes, it is unavoidable for non-smokers to consider these devices free from the national ban on smoking as the next legitimate “smoking behavior” policy.

For example, if you go to a restaurant to eat, which is completely smoke-free, but it allow people to use electronic cigarettes or heat not burn products, even if you are a vaper, would it feel a little inappropriate?

Japan's latest all-round smoking ban doesn't ban vapes

Perhaps the Japanese government’s idea is to use the new tobacco device as a springboard for the 2020 smoke-free Olympic Games. If so, this regulation should limit the scope of use of new tobacco products at the same time and allow users to choose appropriate smoking places through clearer regulations in order to achieve the real goal of tobacco control.

What impact does it have on users and industries?

Japan's latest all-round smoking ban doesn't ban vapes

For e-cigarette users and vape businesses, this ban is very good news, because it not only represents the Japanese government’s correct understanding of the health risks of e-cigarettes, but also indirectly acknowledges that “e-cigarettes are of great help in helping cigarette users to change.” Although the regulations are not comprehensive, it may extend the problem of self-discipline of new tobacco users. However, most people are optimistic about the smoking control measures.

As for the vape business operators, with the approval of the government, the promotion is naturally like on wings!

Japan has a very high proportion of smokers, both male and female. After the introduction of the smoking ban, cigarette manufacturers can take this opportunity to let cigarette users try to use electronic cigarettes. But in the same way, they must also play a good role in checking and selling electronic cigarettes to minors and non-smokers.

Olympic Games may bring explosive growth opportunities for VAPE

Japan's latest all-round smoking ban doesn't ban vapes olympic games

Under the increasingly severe policy of tobacco control, even with the same smoking behavior, at least smokers can choose new tobacco products with relatively low health risks, and the Olympic ban on smoking can just make choices for smokers who are hesitant about whether to alternate to vapes or not.

Japan has always been a very popular tourist country. This Olympic Games will attract a larger number of tourists to travel. This is just an explosive business opportunity, and “Europe and the United States have a large number of e-cigarette users.” If the operators seize this opportunity to communicate with foreign vapers and promote traditional smokers, then they will have the opportunity to make e-cigarettes in the “2020 Tokyo Olympics” usher in a new wave of growth peak.

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Electronic cigarette? Heat not burning cigarette? Traditional tobacco? How Japanese deal with IQOS

Inose Naoki, a former Tokyo director, has recently publicly supported the heating of non – burning tobacco on its Twitter, and hopes that the new products will be treated in Japan for tax reduction in the future to affirm their contribution to the public environment.

vape japan

On the same day, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the largest news agency in Japan, about whether the heat-non-burning tobacco to be treated as a traditional cigarette, the Tokyo municipal government recently collected public opinion. After receiving 2000 people’s feedback on the legal constraints on the non-burning heat as a traditional cigarette, the government of Tokyo said that They can’t ignore the opinion of the 2000 citizens, and because the hazards of the so-called “heated” non burning tobacco are not completely confirmed by science, they should be treated differently from the heat burning products and the traditional tobacco products. According to an analysis of the Philip Moelis Company, which sells the “iQOS” of the non-burning product, the analysis of the Philip Moelis Company reports that the content of the harmful ingredients is reduced 90 percent compared to the traditional cigarette. The Japanese tobacco companies (JT), which sells the same product “Ploomtech”, also said, “there is little concern about health hazards, so it should not be compared with traditional cigarettes.”

As the capital of Japan, the regulations on the prevention of passive smoking in children were set up in Tokyo in October. The regulations containing punishment measures were put into effect in 2017. In order to deal with the Tokyo Olympic Games, Chiba, which is next to Tokyo, has also formulated regulations on the prevention of passive smoking. The regulations on passive smoking prevention in all levels of city, village and village are also in the city of Hokkaido, but not for restaurants and customs shops.

In view of the passive smoking prevention Ordinance, the public is familiar with the harm of traditional cigarettes to health. However, there is a lot of controversy about whether the new type of tobacco such as heating and burning should be treated differently. There are two main arguments.

1. is heat-non-burning tobacco harmful to health?

2. is it still harmful to second hand smoking?

In response, Ishida Masahiko, a medical researcher at the Yokohama Municipal University of Japan, proposed that:

“The passive smoking prevention Ordinance is based on allowing smoking to be free while limiting the health hazards of cigarette smoke to non-smokers. That is to say, if the smoke and steam coming out of heated tobacco will do the same harm to health, it should be restricted like cigarettes. If not, heating and burning tobacco should be excluded from the target.

In view of whether heating does not burn the same harm, although the current amount of sound is still large tobacco companies, public health researchers and research institutions have begun the study of the health hazards of heating-non-burning products to human health. At present, in the paper on the analysis of the substances produced by heatingnon-combustion products, the mainstream of the paper is the opinion of Swiss researchers on the product iQOS of heating non-burning products. According to this paper, the nicotine, formaldehyde, and toxic acrolein produced by iQOS are about 84% less than that of traditional cigarettes.

But it is still not comprehensive to compare the effects of traditional tobacco and heating non – burning tobacco on the health of the users. For non smokers, no tobacco can be called completely healthy, but for smokers who are unable to quit or are not ready to quit, there is no doubt that it will be transferred to the smokers. The new type of tobacco products such as heat and non combustion can reduce the harm of smoking.

Ishida Masahiko believes that carcinogens are in fact universal, and there is not a completely healthy world without any carcinogenic substance, so it is often time to set a safety threshold for different substances.

iqos

In a home wine house, a total ban is imposed, but it is not relevant to use vapes that do not release second-hand smoke. Because it does not burn without fire, the ashtray is also made of paper, which is a good way to solve the problem.

The group of the smoking Japanese people is really big enough. In order to smoke and being healthy,  they have taken all kinds of means and attempts. I wonder if we can learn from them or learn from them. How do you think about this new vape pen?