The health ministry has decided to set a numerical target to lower the ratio of smokers as part of a national health campaign, officials said Sunday.

The ministry initially tried to use the campaign, which was launched in 2000, to promote a goal of halving the percentage of adult smokers and per capita cigarette consumption, before caving in to opposition from the tobacco industry.

However, emboldened by the recent trend toward nonsmoking and the separation of smoking and nonsmoking areas, the ministry has decided to introduce a concrete numerical target to cut back on smoking, which in turn would help curb cancer, strokes and other diseases, the officials said.

The figure will be set through deliberations by a panel of experts, but many observers say it is likely to again encounter stiff opposition.

The smoker ratio among adults in Japan stood at 45.8 percent for men as of June, down 1.1 points from the previous year, and 13.8 percent for women, up 0.6 point, according to Japan Tobacco Inc.

While the overall figure for men has dropped sharply from more than 60 percent in the 1990s, it remains virtually flat for those aged 20 to 59. Furthermore, experts say, the ratio of women who smoke is rising.

A ministry panel studying measures to prevent lifestyle-related diseases has argued that a decrease is unlikely without a decline in the smoker ratio, and that concrete measures, such as raising the price of cigarettes or introducing some sort of numerical target, are needed to bring about such a reduction.

A law outlining health promotion measures intended to reduce passive smoking in public places took effect in May 2003, and an increasing number of local governments have enacted ordinances to encourage separation of smokers and nonsmokers, such as restricting smoking on streets.

In an international effort to control tobacco, the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into effect in February 2005, strengthening restrictions such as using more than 30 percent of a cigarette box's surface to warn of potential health damage.