A Japanese university will no longer hire smokers as teachers as part of a national crackdown on the habit.
Nagasaki University revealed its new policy last week, although it said applicants who pledge to ditch the habit before their start date could still secure jobs.
The institution has a track-record for stamping down on smoking, after it previously banned cigarettes on campus and prohibited the possession of items related to smoking.
Shigeru Kono, president of the university, told the Asahi Shimbun: "Our job as a university is to nurture human resources and we feel obliged to to discourage people against smoking as some companies have begun not recruiting smokers."
Around eight per cent of staff at the university smoke, although the institution plans to open a clinic to help them ditch the habit.
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The university said it was confident the new policy would not break discrimination laws, according to the New York Times .
Oita University, in Kyushu, Japan, has also prioritised hiring nonsmokers, with only three out of 161 faculty members recruited this spring being smokers.
Japan has a reputation for being a smokers' paradise, due to lax laws, however legislation has recently been introduced to tackle the vice.
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Tokyo passed a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants last year, ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in the city.
Japan's Government also introduced a nationwide ban on smoking in public places in 2018, although many eateries were exempt from this.
Smoking rates in the country were at their lowest last year with only 18 per cent of adults admitting to the habit, compared to a peak of 49 per cent in 1966.
