Shocking facts on the dangers of passive smoking have come to light as a result of Yuri Nakata's painstaking fieldwork.

The 36-year-old researcher will sit at restaurant tables, stoically putting up with secondhand smoke for up to four hours at a stretch as a pair of dust monitors collect data. The results of her study are deeply disturbing. Consider these three facts for example: Air in smoking areas is 18 times more polluted than the standard amount; air pollution in a nonsmoking train car adjoining a smoking car is three times higher than the standard; and partial segregation of smoking and nonsmoking areas is tantamount to no measure at all. Nakata's crusade for clean air is based on her experiences as a flight attendant. When she was a college student, Nakata applied to become an international flight attendant as she wanted to see the world for free. At the age of 19, she fulfilled her ambition and flew the friendly skies as a flight attendant for several years. But Nakata soon learned that the friendly skies were also smoke-filled ones. At that time, most aircraft had smoking and nonsmoking sections. And as soon as the no-smoking lights went off, smokers would light up, contentedly puffing away and filling the plane with smoke, which drifted over to where children and pregnant women were seated. Nakata complained to one of her bosses that she was being suffocated by smoke. But he simply brushed off her remark by saying she "lacked professionalism." Through her travel overseas, Nakata quickly came to realize how Japan lagged other countries whenever she saw advanced smoking regulations abroad. Nakata decided to make research into the dangers of passive smoking her life's work in an attempt to eliminate the scourge of secondhand smoke to society. She enrolled in a graduate school at Tokyo University four years ago to study international community health while teaching communication and manners. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will take effect at the end of this month, prompting Nakata to say, "2005 will be a crucial year for me."

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