Matao Yamamoto, a 67-year-old former Kyoto cab driver, is one of a large number of smokers in Japan who deeply regrets acquiring the hard-to-quit habit.
Yamamoto, a patient of pulmonary emphysema and a member of a group of smokers suing Japan Tobacco Inc. and the state, said smokers are also victims of the tobacco industry.
"I started smoking when I was about 13, out of adoration for what appeared to be an adult habit," he said. "Then I simply got addicted and could not quit until I found out it was actually killing me."