2020 Games organizers seek total smoking ban at Olympic venues

The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games intends to impose a total smoking ban at Games venues in 2020, including the entirety of both indoor and outdoor areas of each site, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

According to sources, it would be the first time for such a measure to be taken at the Summer Olympic Games.

In 2017, the committee announced plans to ban smoking within buildings used for the Games.

However, it had been carefully studying a ban on smoking outside of buildings, as there were smoking areas on the premises of the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

According to the sources, the Tokyo committee’s move will be in line with the wishes of the International Olympic Committee, which promotes smoke-free Olympic Games.

It plans to not set up smoking areas on the premises of the facilities.

The Yomiuri Shimbun A sign indicating that all seats are non-smoking is seen on the window of a restaurant in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward in June 2018.