A while back I mentioned the pervasive nature of vending machines in Japan. Drinks, toys, snacks, comics, women’s underwear, etc. There are also still a few machines that sell beer and Japanese alcohol as well, but these are becoming sparse. One varietal of vending machine that continues to be a successful automated merchant is the kind that dispenses packs of cigarettes.
In my past adventures in Japan I had noticed plenty of these types, but in recent years there has been a slight change in the way cigarettes are dispensed. In order to buy a pack of smokes from the machines, one now needs to swipe an identification card across the front, which identifies the purchaser as being of a legal age. In Japan, that age is 19.
Nevertheless, these cancer-inducing, teeth-staining, breath-eroding, habit/vice smoke-sticks are still found in just about every place where other vending machines are located. It is an interesting contrast between North American and Japanese smoking culture. The signs in Canada which announce for smokers a necessary withdrawal of 3 to 5 meters from public entrances are as ubiquitous as vending machines in Japan which sell cigarettes.
A positive change is occurring though. There are now campaigns to instill in the general public an awareness of the harm that secondhand smoke can cause. Not only that, but smokers are being shamed into properly disposing of cigarette butts, rather than throwing them on the ground. These campaigns are propagated in the form of TV commercials, billboards, street signs, book covers, and volunteers who wear arm bands and hold signs on the street, urging smokers to not walk and smoke, nor to discard their butts on the ground.
Part of a book cover
Whether or not, the number of smokers will decrease, or has already, I don’t know. The thing is, cigarettes in Japan cost about 4 dollars a pack. And you can still smoke just about anywhere, inside or out. As well, cigarette vending machines are everywhere. With this in mind, I don’t expect there to be a downturn in smoking anytime soon.
Drinks and smokes
Your Man in Japan 