Hikaru Utada arrived at the end of the 20th century like a comet, reshaping the contours of Japanese pop almost overnight.

In “First Love,” a poignant and tender ballad, she distilled heartbreak into a single indelible image: “That final kiss carried the flavor of your cigarette — sharp, bittersweet and lingering in its scent.”

She was 16 when the song was released in the spring of 1999. The lyrics capture the bittersweet ache of a young romance with someone older.

Today, the idea of invoking the “flavor of cigarette” in a love song seems destined to fade into nostalgia.

Now that a quarter of the 21st century has already passed, a global movement is gathering pace to create a "smoke-free generation."

The........

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