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Somehow, the news that smoking is bad for your health has not yet made it to Japan. Suckin' down a pack a day of vanilla flavored lung cancer is normal for many girls and guys--especially 20-something girls and any age guys. And apparently it's more-or-less expected on the job in the salaryman crowd and for construction workers.
It reminds me of recordings from old radio commercials: "I'm a doctor, and I smoke Philip Morris!" ... Time warp city! There's the whole "magic line" smoking/non-smoking section too--that is, if there's a non-smoking section at all. About 10% of places I go to have a smoking section. Only 1 is non-smoking--an American rotisserie place (Roti, in Roppongi, highly recommended!)--but they have outside seating where I've even smelled a cigar once.
I'm on a soccer team with a 50/50 mix between Japanese men and foreigners, and a few of the guys suck down a "to-ba-ko" in between games. That even shocks other smokers!
I'm sure some day that Japan's collective conscious will wake up and decide smoking is bad. But when will that be?
2 comments:
Revision: 30% of the places I go to have smoking sections. And add 2 more places as non-smoking: the cafeterias on campus. (..but are those restaurants?)
I'm much more tolerant of smoke than I used to be, but I can still smell it a mile away. The curse of a big nose. :)
Arkansas just passed a law that you can't smoke in almost all places of business - no store (unless you have less than 3 employees) (?), no restaurant, no club (unless it's an "over age 21 only club"). We were really happy about it. Makes eating out a WHOLE lot nicer. TMM
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