Millions of Japanese Lives Could Be Saved, Experts Say at Quit Like Sweden Event
In November 2024, Quit Like Sweden, together with Institute for New Era Strategy (INES) Japan, brought together national and international public health experts at an event in Tokyo, who said Japan could save millions of lives if it embraces innovative and proven tobacco harm reduction measures.
The event featured a series of discussions with harm reduction and public health experts, including Dr. Fredrik Nystrom, Professor Marewa Glover, Professor David Sweanor, Professor Kazumasa Oguro, Dr. Kenji Shibuya and Dr. Hiroya Kumamaru.
Professor Kazumasa Oguro, an expert in social security and fiscal policy, said: “Regulations on tobacco products in Japan differ significantly from those in countries like Sweden, and there are limited alternatives and policy incentives available for smokers who wish to quit and their families. As a member of the INES Harm Reduction Study Group, I hope to see further discussions on harm reduction expand in Japan as well.”
Professor Marewa Glover is one of New Zealand’s leading tobacco control researchers. She has worked on reducing smoking-related harm for 31 years. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy on tobacco harm reduction; and locally was a Finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Supreme Award in 2019 recognising her contribution to reducing smoking in NZ. In 2018, Dr Glover was appointed Tobacco Section Editor for the Harm Reduction Journal. In that year she also established the Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking an international program of research aimed at reducing smoking-related harms among Indigenous peoples globally. The Centre’s research was funded with a grant from Global Action to End Smoking (formerly known as Foundation for Smoke-Free World), an independent, U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking organization, accelerating science-based efforts worldwide to end the smoking epidemic. Neither Marewa nor the Centre have any commercial interests in any nicotine or tobacco products.
Dr. Fredrik H. Nystrom (SWE) is Professor at Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. His major research areas are Internal Medicine (General Medicine), Obesity and Appetite regulation, Insulin, Cholesterol, Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, Metabolism, and Diabetes.
Suely Castro is a passionate advocate for harm reduction, who has worked on assessing the impact of international approaches to Tobacco Control, focusing on the experience and real-world effectiveness of alternatives to smoking. She has dedicated nearly two decades to researching and travelling the world advocating for alternative nicotine products to be Accessible, Acceptable, and Affordable to those seeking to quit cigarettes. Suely works tirelessly to foster collaboration and dialogue across borders. Inspired by her personal experience with the impact that smoking and the absence of alternatives can have on families, she set up Quit Like Sweden after witnessing first-hand Sweden’s incredible achievement. Her goal is to bring the Swedish Experience to the world to help save and improve the lives of millions of people.
David Sweanor is an adjunct professor, Faculty of Law, and chair of the advisory board of the Centre for Health Law, Policy & Ethics at the University of Ottawa and has been actively involved in tobacco and health policy issues since the beginning of the 1980s. He has worked globally, and with numerous groups, including the International Union Against Cancer, World Health Organization, World Bank and the Pan American Health Organization and played a key role in achieving many global precedents in tobacco policy. He currently focuses much of his tobacco and nicotine related efforts on risk reduction strategies.
Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Hosei University. Born in 1974. Graduated from the Faculty of Science of Kyoto University and received Ph.D. in Economics at Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University. Prof. Oguro joined the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in 1997 and experienced Assistant reviewer of laws, Chief Deputy Director of Review Division, Custom Bureau, Chief Researcher of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of MOF, and Associate Professor at Hitotsubashi University, and took the current position in April, 2015. Currently he also serves as Senior Visiting Researcher at PRI, and Consulting Fellow at Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), and Advisor to “Japan Vision: Health Care 2035”. A member of Expert Committee on Pension Division of Social Security Council, a Director of Kajima Institute of International Peace, and Director of INES, Chief Researcher of The Canon Institute for Global Studies. Specialized in Public Economics. Author of “Deep Layer of Financial Crisis” (NHK), “Consumption Tax can Exceed 25% even in Abenomics” (PHP), “Will Populism in Finance and Democracy lead to Debt Crisis” (Nihon Keizai Shimbun), “Scenario Analysis of Crisis: After Financial Reversal” (Nihon Keizai Shimbun), “Economics of Drug Prices” (Nihon Keizai Shimbun”.)
Dr. Hiroya Kumamaru is a cardiovascular surgeon and vice director of AOI International Hospital in Kawasaki, Japan, a position he has held since April 2013. A graduate from the School of Medicine at Keio University, Kumamaru studied cardiovascular surgery in Europe and the United States. His professional experience includes time spent as director of the K.I. Akihabara Clinic (July 2008 to March 2013), chief surgeon of the department of cardiovascular surgery at Kawasaki Municipal Hospital, Kanagawa (July 2005 to March 2008) and senior cardiovascular medical director and group leader of clinical scientific affairs at Pfizer Japan (April 1996 to June 2005). He has been working on preventive medicine for more than 10 years and tobacco harm reduction is one of the biggest issues for that area.
Dr. Kenji Shibuya is Director of the Soma COVID Vaccination Medical Center in the city of Soma, Fukushima. He was previously Professor and Director of the Institute for Population Health at King’s College London. Before joining King’s, he was Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health Policy in the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, and Coordinator at the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Shibuya has been an advisor to both central and local governments, and most recently he was Senior Advisor to the WHO director-general and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a pandemic vaccine fund, investing in COVID-19 vaccines. He spearheaded the future strategic directions of the Japanese global health policy agenda at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit in 2008 on health system strengthening and Ise-Shima G7 Summit in 2016 on global health security. He obtained his MD at the University of Tokyo and earned a doctorate of public health in international health economics at Harvard University.
Born in Oita on October 21, 1952. Mr. Umeda graduated from Okayama University, Faculty of Law and Literature, Department of Law. He received his MBA from Keio Business School. He joined Taito Pfizer (now Pfizer Japan Inc.) as a Medical Representative . He served as the Director in charge of Management Planning, Personnel, General Affairs, and Drug Business Promotion. Mr. Umeda took the seat of President of Pfizer Japan Inc. in December, 2009. After he retired from Pfizer in 2018, he took the position of chairman at the Institute of New
Toshihiko Takeda joined Boston Consulting Group 2019. Prior to joining the firm, Toshihiko served as a Director General of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Health Policy Bureau. He joined the former Ministry of Labour after graduating from the University of Tokyo eventually working as the MHLW Minister’s private secretary after spending time in roles in the Budget Bureau and in external organizations such as the JETRO New York office, and the Hokkaido Government.
