Both the number of smokers as well as tobacco consumption in Japan should be halved by 2010, a Health and Welfare Ministry advisory panel said in a report released Thursday.
The report, "Health Japan 21," submitted to the Council on Public Health by a subcommittee, is part of the ministry's efforts to map out a 10-year plan to boost the health of the public, using numerical targets.
The ministry has spearheaded several antismoking campaigns in the past, but Thursday's paper marks the first time it has cited specific numbers in its battle against tobacco.