A Suggestion concerning Treatment for Tobacco Addiction
昔、健康専門雑誌にコラムを連載していたことがあるのですが、そこでタバコの健康被害について書いたことがあります。その中で私は「タバコ依存症患者の禁煙治療に健康保険を適用すべきだ」と主張しました。その数年後、禁煙治療に健康保険が適用されるようになりました。
A few years ago I wrote a series of articles for a magazine, and one of the articles was about the health dangers of tobacco. In the article I argued that treatment for tobacco addiction should be covered by the national health insurance. Now, several years later, the national health insurance does cover treatment for tobacco addiction.
雑誌の発行部数を考えれば、そのコラムを読んだから厚生労働省が動いたということは考えにくいのですが、禁煙治療で喫煙者が減少すれば、喫煙が原因で発症するいくつかの深刻な病気が予防できます。一時的に健康保険組合からの出費が増えたとしても、将来のことまでトータルで考えれば、必ず医療費の削減に繋がるはずです。
Judging from the circulation of the magazine, I doubt that anyone at the Ministry of Health and Labor read my article or actually took action based on it, but if the number of tobacco addicts could be reduced by this treatment, then many serious illnesses caused by tobacco could be prevented. While in the short run the expenses for the health insurance cooperatives may go up, over the long term this will no doubt lead to an overall reduction in health care outlays.
当時は書かなかったことを付け加えるならば、未成年の喫煙者については完全無償かつ強制的に禁煙治療を行うべきだと私は思います。高校等で行われている退学や停学などの処分は、本人のためにも社会のためにも、何の役にも立ちません。多少の一般予防効果はあるかも知れませんが、退学や（自主退学を狙った）停学で得られる最大の効果は、学校側が問題児を厄介払いできることにあるのだろうと思います。
This wasn’t included in the article, but I am of the opinion that treatment for tobacco addiction should be totally free and mandatory for minors. The present system at high schools where students are expelled or suspended, etc. does no good for the student or society. It may have a slight deterrent effect, but the only effect of expulsion or suspension (with the aim of getting the student to leave school on his or her own) is to enable the school to get rid of troublesome students.
未成年の喫煙はたいてい「若気の至り」ですから、中学校や高校（できれば小学校も）は、もっと真剣に喫煙の危険性について教育を行うべきです。また、喫煙していると自己申告を行った学生や生徒については何も処分せず、強制かつ無償で、禁煙治療を行わせてはいかがでしょうか。
Because smoking by minors usually results from youthful indiscretion, high schools, junior high schools, and if possible elementary schools should provide more serious education on the dangers of smoking. I suggest that students who voluntarily report that they are smoking be spared the above sanctions in favor of compulsory and free tobacco addiction treatment.
天然資源に乏しい日本が誇る最大の資源は「人材」です。「人財」と書くことも可能です。特に現代は少子化の時代なのだから、貴重な日本の若者を、わざわざドロップアウトする方向へと向かわせるべきではありません。教育機関の仕事とは、人を教え育てることです。それを自ら放棄して「人財」になる可能性を秘めた若者を、ただそこに存在するだけの「人在」や、存在すら許しがたい「人罪」へと堕とすような処分をするべきではありません。
Japan is short on many natural resources, but it can take pride in its biggest asset, “human resources” (jinzai). This could also be called “human assets” (also jinzai, but written with a different character). Especially in this age of decreasing population, we should not be actively pushing our valuable Japanese young people toward dropout status. The work of schools is to teach and train people. They should not unilaterally abandon that mission, discarding young people with the potential to become very valuable “human assets” into a situation where they become “humans merely existing” (also jinzai, but again written with different characters), or worse yet, “humans whose existence itself is hard to justify” (also jinzai, but again written with different characters).
最近は喫煙のみならず、覚せい剤や麻薬を使用する未成年者も増えていると聞きます。以前、身近で起きた実体験を小説化した本をご紹介しました。作者の川満哀行（カワミツアイキ）君は、私が幼い頃からよく知っている若者です。この小説に描かれた悲しい事件の舞台は、アメリカではなく日本です。「アメリカ人に説教されたくない」とまた言われるかも知れませんが、アメリカのようにならないためにも、日本政府は早急に対策を行うべきだと思います。
http://ameblo.jp/workingkent/entry-10454992100.html
We know that of late young people are not just smoking, but using stimulant drugs, etc. On the topic of drugs, some time ago I introduced on this blog a true story which was made into a novel (see above URL). I have known the author, Aiki Douglas Kawamitsu, since he was very young, and the novel is about the experience of his friend. The stage for the tragic case depicted in the novel is Japan, not the United States. By bringing it up again, I know I risk having you think “Oh, no. That American Kent is preaching again,” but I believe strongly that the Japanese government should take urgent action so that Japan does not become like the United States on this issue of drugs.
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- Amazon.co.jp