Smoking in Japan
Lighting up
It’s an all-too familiar sight in Japan: smokers in clearly marked non-smoking areas.
Since coming to Asia, it has been interesting to see how well the tobacco industry is actually doing. After seeing a series of litigative defeats in my own country, I thought surely the industry was hurt. Perhaps so, but upon seeing vending machines along streets, and staggering reports that more than 50% of Japanese men smoke (or had smoked) made me realize that Asia is still in the 1950s.
Gotta light?
Generally, local ordinances are in place around train stations and schools. Many visitors to Japan will notice increased signage for many things, so plenty of signs are printed, taped, mounted on poles, and even cemented into sidewalks and stairs. Fines can be 2,000 Japanese Yen on the spot, but I have never spotted anyone being stopped …except by my camera.
Apparently nothing stopped this old timer from enjoying a mid-afternoon puff.
Rolling and smoking
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Resolutions
Of course this could be about photography, but this is about New Year’s resolutions.
I posted something about that a few days ago here. So, as we approach the 31st, I thought this link would be interesting. The survey you’ll see revisits the tax hike on cigarettes in Japan, and asks questions surrounding reasons for quitting, etc. “What Japan Thinks” is a curious website that does online surveys, which is interesting despite potentially questionable data. It also offers occasionally wacky surveys.
But back to the real question: what is your resolution? Of course it’s rhetorical. I think the question itself is more important than the actual answer. So whatever your musings bring you, I’m sure the timeout to think or meditate over it will set something positive in motion.
