Better education and counseling are needed to address the problem of underage smoking, senior government ministry and agency officials agreed at their first meeting to tackle the issue Tuesday.

The officials of 14 government bodies will ask a working group to come up with an interim report on concrete steps by June.

A World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control goes into effect in February.

The health ministry has noted the pressing need to rein in smoking among minors, protect nonsmokers and help those trying to kick the habit.

About 40 percent of male students in their senior year of high school are believed to smoke. The rate of smoking among minors has not declined in recent years.

Among the plans for controlling smoking presented at Tuesday's meeting, the Finance Ministry said it will ban outdoor advertisements for tobacco from this April. Ads on buses and trains were banned last October.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will conduct surveys of measures taken in various workplaces as well as devise smoking-cessation programs with the aid of health professionals.

The education ministry has distributed leaflets on the hazards of smoking to elementary school pupils.

From the 2005 school year, the ministry also plans to distribute educational material to junior and senior high school students.

Meanwhile, officials of the National Police Agency reported that about 540,000 minors were caught smoking in 2003. They said they plan to continue their anti-smoking campaigns.

In March 2004, Tokyo signed the WHO pact stipulating that signatory nations curb tobacco consumption. The pact was ratified in June of that year.

A total of 167 nations and the European Union have signed the convention.(IHT/Asahi: January 19,2005)