Japan says fewer men smoking

TOKYO, May 17 (Reuters) More and more Japanese men were quitting smoking, with the percentage of male smokers falling below 40 per cent in 2005 for the first time in two decades, according to a government survey.

The annual survey, conducted by the Health Ministry, showed 39.3 per cent of all Japanese adult men smoked as of the end of 2005, down four percentage points from a year before.

It showed about one in three Japanese men had quit smoking over the 20 years until the end of 2005.

A Health Ministry official said yesterday the declining trend could be largely attributed to a rising awareness of the health risks and stricter smoking regulations.

The rate of female smokers also dipped by 0.7 per centage point to 11.3 percent in 2005 from a year earlier, the survey showed. But that was higher than the 8.6 per centage points for two decades ago when the ministry took the first survey.

REUTERS GL PM0922