The government worked out a fresh anticancer program Friday that calls for reducing the rate of smoking among adults to 12 percent by fiscal 2022, down from 19.5 percent in 2010, officials said.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration endorsed the program at a Cabinet meeting, which incorporated a target for the smoking rate for the first time.

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoko Komiyama said the numerical goal represents a major step in the fight against cancer.