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ARTICLES
2: TOBACCO - A TICKING TIME BOMB
3: TOBACCO - JAPAN'S SACRED COW
4: TOBACCO - HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS
5: JAPAN - UP IN SMOKE
MARK GIBBENS 20TH NOVEMBER 2005
to visit.
Despite its occasional highly publicized bizarre crimes, this image of a safe Japan - in reference
to murder, assault, rape and robbery - is essentially true. And I for one enjoy living in such a safe
environment.
However, assault comes in many forms and with such a high percentage of smokers in this
country (47% of men), we are all constantly being assaulted by the deadly, poisonous cocktail of
lethal, toxic fumes created by tobacco smoke.
Whilst much of the developed world (through government and NGO intervention) is taking the
initiative to curb and defeat the nemesis of tobacco, the Japanese Government with its vested interest
in tobacco sales, is being dragged kicking and screaming by the World Health Organisation (WHO)
and its Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) - to tell the Japanese people the truth
about tobacco.
"We know it smells bad and makes us cough, but is it really so dangerous for our health?" you ask.
The answer is most definitely yes! It's a killer in disguise!
One cigarette is made up of 600 ingredients, including those used in paint stripper and toilet
cleaning products. These create 4000 chemical compounds, including hydrogen cyanide - used to
exterminate millions of people in the genocide campaigns of World War 2.
43 of these chemicals are known carcinogens - meaning they cause cancers - not just lung
cancer and not only in active smokers but in everyone.
The WHO estimates that currently 5 million deaths per year are caused by tobacco - one death
every eight seconds. This figure is set to double by the year 2030 - that's 10 million people - the
current population of Tokyo City.
I'm sure you can think of a relative or friend who has died from cancer. There is a high
probability their cancer was caused by tobacco.
In Japan in 2003, 110000 people died from actively smoking and 19000 died from passively
inhaling tobacco smoke. That's equal to the A-bomb (initial blast) deaths in Hiroshima and these
numbers are increasing as JT (Japan Tobacco) continues to flood the market with cheap cigarettes.
It's estimated that a quarter of the youths currently alive in the Western Pacific region (including
Japan) will die from tobacco. Maybe you, your friends or your children?
Huge profits ease the conscience of JT executives; what will ease your conscience?
You can say "I wont start smoking or I wont allow my children to start"; but the fact is - through
peer pressure and slick advertising - between 80,000 and 100,000 children world wide start smoking
every day. And half of these children live in Asia. It's Asia's next devastating tsunami!
This first in a series of articles has probably left you with more questions than answers - and
why believe what I or non-profit organisations say?
Simply, because I have nothing to gain but my and my family's health.
Just as going to war with its certainty of death is not logical, neither is the slow suicide of
smoking tobacco.
Education is empowering, so tell your family and friends the facts and maybe together we can
build a brighter, healthier future for Japan.
MARK GIBBENS 25TH NOVEMBER 2005
health hazards caused by tobacco, they cannot deny that many people are dying from tobacco
related diseases and even one death, is one too many.
Especially when tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in
the world today.
It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for us; and not without good reason do we
colloquially refer to cigarettes as cancer sticks.
According to the United States (U.S.) Surgeon General's Report 2004 - cancer is the second
leading cause of death in the U.S. and lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, with
cigarette smoking the culprit in most cases: 90% in men and 80% in women.
Smoking related cancers also include: mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus and bladder cancer.
Most recently it has also been identified in cancers of the stomach, cervix, kidney and pancreas; all
killers!
If this isn't bad enough, the leading cause of death in the U.S., Coronary Heart Disease, is directly
affected by tobacco and nicotine which cause a narrowing and hardening of the vessels which carry
blood around your body. This is compounded by your blood absorbing carbon dioxide instead of
oxygen from your lungs every time you smoke or breathe in someone-else's smoke. All of which
lead to the third and fourth biggest killers, Stroke (CVA) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD), starting with a "smoker's cough" and possibly ending in death as you drown in
your own sputum.
Still not convinced it's bad? Think about what it's doing to your children. As they breathe in your
second hand smoke they are becoming more prone to respiratory infections - coughs and colds,
asthma and middle ear infections.
What about smoking and pregnancy? As more young Japanese women take up the habit, they are
increasing the life-threatening risks to their babies, including low birth weight, premature delivery
and still-birth. Nicotine can cause (through constriction of the umbilical cord and uterus) decreased
oxygen to the baby in the womb who has no escape from this kind of attack.
Smoking by mothers can also cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Compared with
unexposed infants, babies exposed to second hand smoke after birth are at twice the risk for SIDS.
Wanting to have a baby? Think again. Women who smoke are at an increased risk of infertility and
men's "pride" will be drooping; as their sexual performance is also diminished.
Neither are you spared, even if you survive these pit-falls and reach an elderly age. Women,
especially, are more prone to broken bones; as smoking reduces the strength and density of bones in
menopausal women.
Also, if you can't see past your next cigarette, you may not be seeing at all; as smokers have two
or three times the risk of developing cataracts which is a leading cause of blindness.
The evidence is overwhelming and yet millions of people continue to ignore it, either through
arrogance - "It wont happen to me."- or ignorance. Be Aware!
As one simple packet warning says: SMOKING KILLS.
MARK GIBBENS 27TH NOVEMBER 2005
SARS, bird-flu and BSE.
I wish it were that simple. It's much easier to stop something before it takes root, than to eradicate
it once it has spread out of control for 400 years, entangling many people with addiction or vested
interest.
Despite the overwhelming medical evidence, efforts to stop this noxious weed are continually
thwarted by the democratic process which gives people the freedom to choose.
However, nobody makes the right choice all the time, especially without correct information and
especially children.
Children are not only more vulnerable to peer pressure, but susceptible, as we all are, to slick
advertising campaigns which brain-wash us with cool, macho and sexy images of smoking.
Currently we live in a country where, once these youths become addicted, they are hooked for
life. Allowing them to smoke whenever and wherever they like with the aid of over 600,000
cigarette vending machines, at low cost, provides no incentive to kick the habit.
As for the vested interests, we must not forget that the tobacco industry provides employment for
thousands of Japanese, from farming and manufacturing to sales. We must all be considerate of the
livelihood of these people. That doesn't mean we procrastinate and do nothing.
We must urgently formulate a policy of phasing out tobacco, whilst offering opportunities for
retraining and compensation to industry personnel, funded by increased taxes on tobacco products.
Sounds simple! But tobacco is Japan's, "sacred cow".
Just like India's sacred cows can roam at will and do as they like, so has it been for Japan
Tobacco (JT). Besides almost monopolizing the Japanese market, it has, unlike other countries, a
cosy relationship with the Government through the Ministry of Finance which is a 50% share-holder
in the company.
JT executives would like nothing more than to maintain the current tobacco legislation status quo.
Through intense lobbying and providing incentives to politicians and ministry officials - such as
JT-Board membership upon retirement - it has been effective in its damage control and
disinformation campaigns.
Whether due to financial gain or political expedience, no one wants to upset this "sacred cash
cow".
Further more, many of these politicians,bureaucrats, governors, judges, doctors, police and
teachers (people who direct our lives) are smokers and happily addicted, having made uninformed
choices in their youth.
Politicians are acutely aware of the voters who elect them to office. Rather than make courageous
statesman-like policies based on common sense and common good, they kowtow to an active
minority rather than benefit the silent majority.
And in Japan there truly is a silent majority.
From my perspective as a foreigner, Japan is a country of unparalleled politeness. That is one of
the reasons I enjoy living here. But on the downside, it is the polite 3/4 of the population which
meekly accepts the arrogance and bad manners of smokers.
Rather than create social disharmony, polite Japanese put on a brave face and try to ignore the
suffocating plumes of smoke that assault them. Nowhere is safe and there is no escape.
Tobacco has truly taken on a sacred quality in this country where even the Imperial Household
rewards its faithful subjects with gifts of tobacco.But remember, even cows leave a mess.