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To all smokers and those who install smoking rooms
Cigarette butts that are covered with the new coronavirus are very dangerous and areconsidered to be infectious waste.
31st/May/2020
Manabu Sakuta, Chairperson, Japan Society for Tobacco Control, General incorporated

Smoking area / room with a capacity for 20
peopleSpeaking
Smoking tobacco
The new coronavirus

One person can transmit the virus
Particles of 4 microns remain in the air for 8minutesParticles of 10 microns or less can extend to aradius of 8 meters
Survives in the air for 3 hours

When newly admitted patients at Keio University were examined, 6% of them had apositive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result1). According to this most recent
data, it is likely that 1 in 20 people in the general population transmit the virus10). In
general, we need to prepare for a second or third wave of contagion given theprevalence of infection in the population.
Saliva contains a larger number of viruses than nasal-pharyngeal fluids, so cigarettebutts in particular are considered infectious waste9), and there is a risk of infection
when disposing them. Therefore, installing and being in contact with smoking areas
and ashtrays are now considered very dangerous8).
When people speak, saliva and mucus particles of 4 micron diameter are emitted andremain airborne for 8 minutes2). Because viruses attach to these particles, infection of
the new coronavirus can result for those in the environment. Furthermore, whenpeople exhale tobacco smoke, a high concentration of viral particles attached to smokeparticulate matter are also emitted from the lungs, pharynx and/or oral-nasal
passages. Current research shows that smoke particulate matter of 10 microns or lessextend to a radius of 8 meters3,4).
The new coronavirus is known to remain active in the air for 3 hours5). Moreover,smokers do not wear a mask when they smoke.

The 3 close proximity conditions for coronavirus transmission (enclosed space, crowdsof people, and close contact) are found in smoking areas and smoking rooms
throughout Japan. These conditions are why smoking areas have been closed6,7). But
those who continue to allow the use of smoking areas are irresponsible to smokers andto bystanders because they can be blamed for spreading contagion, as is occurring inFukui prefecture.
If you are thinking of to open or to use a smoking area or a smoking room, pleaseconsider these dangers.
1) About 6% of patients scheduled to be hospitalized other than for coronavirus have a positive test
result at Keio University Hospital
https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASN4Q7JB6N4QULBJ01C.html?iref=comtop_8_07(2.7% of outpatients have the new coronavirus antibody, according to a survey of 1000
people on May 3 from the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital)
2) Droplets of saliva and mucus from speaking remain in the air for 8 minutes and cantrigger a new COVID-19 infection.
https://www.carenet.com/hihyotue/008.html?utm_source=m15&utm_medium=email&u
tm_campaign=2020051401
3) "Three close proximity conditions of smoking rooms" require immediate closure,provided by Professor Yamato of University of Occupational and Environmental
Health Japan
200408_喫煙室は３密.pdf
http://u0u0.net/Xak94) James Repace: Measurements of outdoor air pollution from secondhand smoke on
the UMBC campus.
http://www.repace.com/pdf/outdoorair.pdf
5) The new coronavirus survives in the air for 3 hours
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2004973
6) "Three close proximity conditions" movement to close smoking rooms, YomiuriShimbun, 20 April 2020
7) Status of closing smoking areas and smoking rooms nationwide
http://www.jstc.or.jp/modules/resource/index.php?content_id=12
http://www.jstc.or.jp/modules/resource/index.php?content_id=138) In a Yale study, saliva had a viral concentration about 5 times higher than nasalpharyngeal fluids.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067835v1
9) Notification of the Ministry of the Environment regarding the proper disposal of
infectious waste:
感染性廃棄物は他の廃棄物と分別して排出するものとする。

Infectious waste shall be discharged separately from other waste.
https://www.env.go.jp/hourei/11/000074.html
10) Interpreting Diagnostic Tests for SARS-CoV-2
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765837
11) Nardell EA（Brigham and Women's Hospital, Division of Global Health Equity,Harvard Medical School）, Nathavitharana RR. Airborne Spread of SARS-CoV-2 and a
Potential Role for Air Disinfection [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 1].
JAMA. 2020;10.1001/jama.2020.7603. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.7603