Osaka expo changes no-smoking policy, will set up 2 smoking areas
– The organiser of the World Exposition in Osaka has decided to set up two smoking areas within the event's venue by early June, reversing its earlier no-smoking policy.
Until now, those who wished to smoke had to leave the 155ha venue and go to one of two designated areas outside its east gate. The lack of accessible smoking spots prompted some staff and participants to smoke in unauthorised areas.
The organising committee said it made the decision after staff who smoke complained about the inconvenience of walking across the large venue to reach the smoking areas.
One of the new smoking areas will be set up on the western side of the venue, according to the committee.
Health experts say one of the two existing smoking areas outside the east gate is already exposing others to secondhand smoke, and they argue that allowing smoking, even in designated areas, runs counter to the Osaka expo's theme of building a sustainable society and improving lives.
'We live in a world where a smoking ban in public places is a common practice,' said Mr Bungaku Watanabe, director of the non-profit organisation Japan Society for Tobacco Control.
'It would be best to totally ban smoking at the expo,' he added. KYODO NEWS
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