When you hear the word Nara, what comes to mind?

Persimmons are about to enter their season!?
Temple or Big Buddha?
Or the number of deer!?

Nara Prefecture has many attractions, but in fact, the "low" smoking rate ranks first in Japan.

1.2019% in the 15 national survey.

But why is the smoking rate low in Nara?

We've explored why.

(Nande-Nan Interview Team, Nara Broadcasting Station, Yudai Yamada, Reporter/Osaka Broadcasting Station, Director Naho Yoshida)

The "hypothesis" of the locals is

What do locals think about why smoking rates are low?

When I asked in front of the station ...

"Why are there so many people who don't want to bother people?"

"The people of Nara are quite serious. I think there is a tendency to stop doing things that are called akan." "I think it's because there are so many cultural properties."

Various theories have popped up, from the personality of the people of Nara Prefecture to their awareness of cultural properties, but there seems to be no common "this is it."

Verifying the "Educational Background?"

As the reporter conducted his research, he found the results of a study on tobacco.

"The higher the final educational attainment, the lower the smoking rate," and this tendency is particularly strong among the younger generation.

So, I put aside whether I am a Nara resident for the time being, and headed to Kyoto University, one of the most difficult schools in Kansai, to investigate the relationship between educational background and smoking.

When I asked 50 students and graduate students if they smoked...

"There is no benefit to smoking it, and there is no problem if you don't smoke."

Of the 50 respondents, 50 answered that they do not smoke.

Perhaps due to the fact that young people are turning away from tobacco, the results were a little extreme.

Furthermore, based on the "educational background theory," we examined the rate of advancement to universities and junior colleges by prefecture, and found that Nara Prefecture ranked 7th in Japan.

However, there were cases where the smoking rate was relatively high even in prefectures with a high rate of going on to university.

It seems difficult to explain the low smoking rate in Nara Prefecture, at least this alone.

Nara Prefecture The key person for the breakthrough is

Actually, Nara Prefecture did not have a low smoking rate originally.

The smoking rate in 2001 was 29%, ranking 28th in Japan.

However, in the 2004 survey, it dropped to 24.2%, and the ranking also improved significantly, to third place.
Why did it improve so quickly?

There is also a mystery here...

So, when I contacted the Nara Prefecture Disease Control Division, I came up with a new hint.

(Assistant Director, Disease Control Division)
"In Nara Prefecture, the 'Tobacco Control Promotion Committee' has been established, and I think Dr. Yuko Takahashi, who also serves as the chairperson, is very detailed."

Kyoto University Graduate School Yuko Takahashi, Project Professor

Mr. Takahashi was introduced as a key person.

In 1994, he opened Japan's first smoking cessation clinic at a hospital in Nara Prefecture, where he worked.

It is said that he has treated about 7,5000 people in seven years. In addition, we are also running a "smoking cessation marathon" where people work to quit smoking while receiving advice by e-mail.

He has led efforts to encourage people to quit smoking.

The next thing Mr. Takahashi focused on was measures for children.

In 2003, a picture book was distributed to all first-year elementary school students in Nara Prefecture that included the risks of tobacco.

Parents were also encouraged to quit smoking by creating supplementary reading books that describe practical ways to quit smoking.

The idea was that the smoking rate could be suppressed by directly communicating the risks to children before they start smoking and by reducing the opportunities for children to come into contact with cigarettes at home.

Project Professor Yuko Takahashi, Graduate School of Kyoto University:
"I think it is difficult to give only one reason for the low smoking rate in Nara Prefecture, but one of the things that was done in Nara Prefecture that was not done in other prefectures was smoking prevention education for first graders of elementary school and the education for parents that accompanied it. After all, it is most effective to take measures before you get into the habit of smoking."

Perhaps because of these efforts, the prefecture became the prefecture with the lowest smoking rate in Japan in 2013.

Continued "grassroots" activities

Since then, Nara Prefecture has had the lowest smoking rate in Japan for three consecutive times.

In honor of Mr. Takahashi's thoughts, efforts to call for smoking cessation are continuing throughout the prefecture.

One of them is Hiragun-cho, which has data that the smoking rate is lower than that of the prefecture according to the town's own survey.

In the building where the town's health department is located, there is not even a smoking area on the premises, and smoking is strictly prohibited.

In addition, the envelope at the town hall reads, "No Smoking Song."

A song about how quitting smoking leads to physical and mental health.

Information that there is a car playing this "non-smoking song" in town.

When I was going around the town, I found a car that played "No Smoking Song" from the speakers.

When I asked the volunteers who are in charge of the activities, they said that the first Friday of the month is designated as "No Smoking Day" and that they are patrolling the town.

In addition, at a kamishibai class held by volunteers at an elementary school, the risks of tobacco were explained in an easy-to-understand manner.

As a smoker, I felt a little narrow-minded, but I was impressed by their thoroughness and felt that the reason why we were able to maintain a low smoking rate was the result of these steady activities.

Kansai has a low smoking rate overall, but Osaka ...

By the way, looking at other prefectures in Kansai, smoking rates tended to be quite low in many prefectures such as Kyoto and Shiga.

Shiga Prefecture set a goal of halving the smoking rate in 2001, and Kyoto and Wakayama Prefectures also focused on smoking cessation and smoke prevention education from early on.

Even in Osaka Prefecture, the only prefecture in Kansai that has a higher smoking rate than the national average, efforts are gradually being started.

For example, Osaka City plans to submit to the legislature a draft ordinance to ban smoking on the streets throughout the city in preparation for next year's Osaka-Kansai Expo.

Just as Tokyo has become a smoke-free and smoke-segregated area triggered by the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Osaka may also change due to international events.

While each local government is focusing on health measures, the key to maintaining the first place in Nara Prefecture will be how long it can continue the grassroots movement that has taken root in Nara.

Why, why

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