Introduction:
The smoking rate of Japanese women had temporarily risen to 20%, but has decreased significantly in recent years, and the smoking rate in 2017 was 7.2%. On the other hand, the smoking rate of French women is high at 30.1%.

Objectives:
In this study, we compare the smoking behavior of Japanese and French female small and medium enterprise (SMEs) owners with their business stress as well as mental and physical conditions, and consider the social, psychological and cultural background of smoking.

Methods:
For Japanese subjects, in 2018, we conducted a telephone interview with 317 SMEs owners who are members of the Welfare Foundation who and had agreed to the survey. A total of 169 French subjects participated in an internet survey at the same time. The number and average age (± standard deviation) of the subjects were 410 males, 58.60 (± 13.2), 76 females, 53.3 (± 13.5). The survey items used were lifestyle factors, health status, and job factors, and we compared the Japanese and French results by gender.

Results:
The smoking rate of female SMEs owners was 18.5% in Japan and higher than that in France (10.2%). The proportion of respondents who answered “well” and “feel good” was 37.0% and 44.4% respectively in Japan, and 75.5% and 83.7% in France. Job satisfaction and stress were also significantly lower for female SME owners in Japan than for female SMEs owners in France.

Conclusion(s):
The smoking rate of female SMEs owners in Japan was 2.5 times higher than that of general female population in Japan, and was one-third lower in France than that of general female population. The result may be attributed to the complex relation between the age group of Japanese surveyed, social norms on smoking, and differences in women's values and attitudes toward smoking in Japan and France.