Up in smoke -- that is the simplest way to describe the fate of an ambitious Health and Welfare Ministry plan to drastically cut the number of smokers as well as overall tobacco consumption in Japan by 2010.
The ministry boldly proposed to halve the number of adult smokers as well as the number of cigarettes consumed in the next decade, as a core component of its plan unveiled in August to improve the nation's health in the 21st century.
The cut was a key feature of the drive to enhance the health and quality of life within the nation over the next 10 years by addressing problem areas -- ranging from oral hygiene to cancer -- and setting numerical goals to tackle them.