Local News

Campus-wide smoking bans are making steady progress at Japan’s universities. Led primarily by medical and pharmaceutical schools, universities are starting to teach smoking cessation as part of their social responsibility activities amid growing anti-smoking sentiment in society at large. Some schools, like the Daiichi University of Pharmacy in Minami Ward, Fukuoka, even make students submit anti-smoking pledges as part of the campus smoking bans. Since 2010, Kumamoto’s Sojo University has indicated in its entrance exam guidelines that only non-smokers are eligible to enroll, while eligibility requirements for applicants to the School of Pharmacy at Nagasaki International University (Sasebo, Nagasaki) have indicated a desire for “individuals with a strong determination to maintain their health by choosing not to smoke, etc.” since 2012. To help smoking students kick the habit, some schools are now offering smoking cessation programs that include consultations with nurses or physicians. Kyushu University has offered one such program since 2010, and Seinan Gakuin University adopted a similar initiative last year. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 2/12