The smoking rate in Japan is now below 20 percent of the population, a record-setting event that has not happened since the statistic began being kept in 1965.
The smoking population is now on par with that of the U.S., with about 20.6 million smokers in Japan. When broken down by gender, it reflects 30.3 percent male and 9.8 percent female.
The U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had 42.1 million smokers as of 2012, representing 18.1 percent of the adult population. The statistics indicate men had a higher smoker rate of 20.5 percent versus 15.8 percent for women.
The data comes from a new study released by Japan Tobacco. About 19.7 percent of Japan adults view themselves as smokers, which reflects a dip of 1.2 percent from last year.
The survey included polling 32,000 adults and results from 19,420 participants. The biggest number of smokers was recorded in 1966, when just about half, 40.4 percent surveyed, said they smoked cigarettes. As of 2005, just about 30 percent of Japan's population considered themselves smokers.
The decline in smoking, according to Japan Tobacco, can be attributed to several factors including increased awareness of health issues, restrictions on where people can smoke in public and the tax on cigarettes, which jumped to 8 percent, from 5 percent, this past April.
One reason the smoking population may be decreasing is that smokers striving to quit are turning to alternative nicotine products such as gum and e-cigarettes.
The electronic vapor product, which is now under scrutiny by lawmakers and health advocates in the U.S., had long been viewed as a healthy option to traditional tobacco use, with research claiming no health risks. But in the past year more than a few reports have been published stating the devices are not as healthy as the Food and Drug Administration believes and should be assessed more carefully.
Municipalities around the country are banning the e-cigarettes in public places, claiming the vapor is unhealthy.
The latest study was published Wednesday and claims that when compared with conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are likely to be less harmful to users or those concerned about second-hand smoke from tobacco products.
The research was conducted by scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and published in the journal Addiction.
"Current evidence about e-cigarettes does not justify regulating them more strictly than, or even as strictly as, conventional cigarettes. Regulatory decisions will provide the greatest public health benefit when they are proportional, based on evidence, and incorporate a rational appraisal of likely risks and benefits," states a release on the study.
The review was led by QMUL's Professor Peter Hajek.
"The evidence we currently have is clear: e-cigarettes should be allowed to compete against conventional cigarettes in the marketplace. Health care professionals may advise smokers who are unwilling to cease nicotine use to switch to e-cigarettes. Smokers who have not managed to stop with current treatments may also benefit from switching to e-cigarettes," Hajek states.
