By Ken Y-N ( October 17, 2009 at 01:53)
· Filed under Polls, Society, Statistics
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Rather than just another survey on consumer interests, here’s something a bit different, a look at recent trends in smoking and drinking rates amongst Japanese schoolchildren. The multiple surveys were conducted and analysed by Central Research Services.
Demographics
I only have concrete demographics for the 1996 and 2000 surveys; both surveys asked students at about 70 to 90 junior and senior high schools, getting over 100,000 replies both times, representing over 60% of the students enrolled in each institution.
The remarkable drop in smoking and drinking rates is quite surprising, and I must admit to being a bit skeptical about the results on first reading. However, the survey report referenced a paper entitled Decrease in the prevalence of smoking among Japanese adolescents and its possible causes: periodic nationwide cross-sectional surveys (English) that tried to explain the huge drop. Their conculsion is as stunning as the statistics themselves – more schoolchildren have no friends, thus no peer pressure to indulge in such underage vices.
Photo from Don’t fry leeks,please on flickr.
Research results
S1: Smoking frequency trends for children
Junior high school boys
| Year |
Have smoked |
Smoke at least once a month |
Smoke daily |
| 1996 |
34.6% |
10.9% |
2.4% |
| 2000 |
28.7% |
9.4% |
2.6% |
| 2004 |
18.2% |
3.8% |
1.3% |
| 2008 |
12.3% |
2.9% |
0.8% |
Junior high school girls
| Year |
Have smoked |
Smoke at least once a month |
Smoke daily |
| 1996 |
19.9% |
4.9% |
0.7% |
| 2000 |
20.0% |
5.6% |
1.0% |
| 2004 |
13.9% |
3.6% |
0.6% |
| 2008 |
9.5% |
2.0% |
0.3% |
Senior high school boys
| Year |
Have smoked |
Smoke at least once a month |
Smoke daily |
| 1996 |
51.9% |
30.7% |
18.0% |
| 2000 |
50.3% |
29.9% |
18.4% |
| 2004 |
36.0% |
15.9% |
8.5% |
| 2008 |
24.9% |
9.7% |
4.7% |
Senior high school girls
| Year |
Have smoked |
Smoke at least once a month |
Smoke daily |
| 1996 |
33.5% |
12.6% |
4.6% |
| 2000 |
33.7% |
13.1% |
5.4% |
| 2004 |
24.0% |
8.2% |
3.1% |
| 2008 |
15.8% |
4.5% |
1.7% |
S2: Drinking frequency trends for children
Junior high school boys
| Year |
Have drunk |
Drink at least once a month |
Drink weekly |
| 1996 |
73.5% |
29.4% |
6.4% |
| 2000 |
64.5% |
29.0% |
5.9% |
| 2004 |
53.3% |
20.5% |
3.9% |
| 2008 |
38.4% |
9.9% |
2.1% |
Junior high school girls
| Year |
Have drunk |
Drink at least once a month |
Drink weekly |
| 1996 |
71.5% |
24.0% |
3.9% |
| 2000 |
64.3% |
25.5% |
4.1% |
| 2004 |
56.7% |
20.0% |
2.9% |
| 2008 |
41.9% |
10.8% |
1.9% |
Senior high school boys
| Year |
Have drunk |
Drink at least once a month |
Drink weekly |
| 1996 |
87.2% |
49.7% |
13.8% |
| 2000 |
83.5% |
48.7% |
14.4% |
| 2004 |
75.3% |
36.2% |
10.0% |
| 2008 |
59.6% |
22.5% |
6.5% |
Senior high school girls
| Year |
Have drunk |
Drink at least once a month |
Drink weekly |
| 1996 |
86.7% |
40.8% |
6.3% |
| 2000 |
84.1% |
42.1% |
7.8% |
| 2004 |
77.3% |
34.1% |
6.5% |
| 2008 |
63.2% |
20.5% |
4.1% |
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Interesting. Why is there such a huge gap between the Seniors and Juniors? I’d like to see even data farther back to see how Kimura Takuya had an effect on smoking rates among youngsters
BTW, if you’re going to use colloquial terms for “alcohol” and “homosexuals,” you should use “kozou” for Japanese children.
Another likely reason apart from lack of friends is that smoking and drinking is not shown as glamorous or cool nearly to the extent it was just ten years ago. The hero isn’t seen much in bars these days, and practically never smokes on-screen.
Ugh, that scene in the image is disgusting. I hope they’re not really trying to get that loli drunk.