[Trends of Implementation of Nonsmoking at Eating and Drinking Establishments One Year before and after April 2020: Consideration of the Status of Implementation of the Amendment Bill for the Health Promotion Act of Japan].

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we aimed to clarify the transition to the implementation of smoking prohibition at eating and drinking establishments one year before and after April 2020, the time when they became "nonsmoking" in principle following the implementation of the amendment bill for the Health Promotion Act of Japan.

Methods: The total number of nonsmoking/smoking eating and drinking establishments by industry were obtained using the data from "Tabelog^®." The number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 by the polymerase chain reaction test on the day of the survey nationwide and the bankruptcy status of the companies (eating and drinking establishments, etc.) for each month were ascertained.

Results: In 2020, a state of emergency was declared owing to the increase in the number of people positive for COVID-19, and many eating and drinking establishments went bankrupt. Despite these circumstances, the number of nonsmoking eating and drinking establishments exceeded that of smoking establishments in March 2020 and continued to increase thereafter. Additionally, the number of nonsmoking "restaurants" increased and exceeded that of smoking restaurants in June 2020. The number of nonsmoking "cafes" already exceeded that of smoking "cafes" at the beginning of this survey and continued to increase. The number of nonsmoking "bars" increased, but that of smoking "bars" remained high.

Conclusion: It is necessary to promote measures against passive smoking while paying attention to the trends for different types of eating and drinking establishments, rather than considering all establishments together.