Smokers Alert

Maybe I've lived in Hawaii too long. There's one thing that really bothers me here in Japan... and that is smoking.

In the state of Hawaii, smoking in restaurants has been banned. It hasn't been that long, but even before that there were many places that made a seperate smoking area, so I got used to not smelling smoke at restaurants and cafes.

A few days ago at a "Lotteria" I went for a cup of coffee with my friends I realized it was very smokey. Hmmm? It was something I wasn't used to. I was surprised that smokers and non-smokers are sitting side by side. Then at a restaurant I went with my grandma, I found an ash tray on every table, and I realized this was normal. Finally I went to a fast food restaurant yesterday for a bite of late lunch, and literally, everyone except me was smoking there! Mmmm. Not good.

These worry me a bit; they remind me of my friends in Hawaii. Two classmates - young males - are from the US and have studied/taught in Japan. They said they had learned to smoke in Japan, and smoking was a strategy for learning Japanese. Many young people in Japan smoke, and if they smoke as well, they can easily hang out with young Japanese people. Even in Hawaii, more students from Japan are smokers than local American students.

I don't mean to blame smokers. They are adults and they make choices on their own. BUT they have to know that it has risk for their health. It is addictive and is a main cause of lung cancer. I feel that there is less awareness raising in Japan that smoking is harmful. I think that it is really a shame that Japan is becomoing an exporter of this lack of awareness. みんな、もっと自分の身体、大切にしようよ！