Schoolgirl smokers thwarted by digital IDs
A bit of a fag
FOR JAPANESE SCHOOLGIRLS, there’ll be no more sneaking out of class for a quick fag in the loos anymore, thanks to new digital “tobacco passports” needed to buy ciggies from vending machines.
In Japan, smoking is illegal for under 20’s, but has always been especially popular with Japanese high school girls, as a mark of coolness and sophistication. Getting the forbidden smokes was never a big problem for the nicotine crazed kids, who would simply get their fill of Marlboros from vending machines, like snack bars or fizzy drinks. But all that is changing fast.
In the beginning of 2008, Japan’s “Tobacco Institute” started making people carry new smoker ID cards called “taspos” (tobacco passports), which happen to include age identification. Old vending machines are also being ripped out and replaced with new ones that only work by scanning the taspos, before doling out the desired nicotine fix.
The new system also allows people to pay for their cigarettes, directly from credit on the card, making them into a sort of 'pay as you choke' debit card. This means that from now on, Japanese schoolgirls will just have to learn from their European and American counterparts, and get their older siblings to buy them their fags and booze.
Can’t get more sophisticated than that. µ
L’Inq
Wired
Comments
Taste the new Yakuza fags!
Are you a Japanese school girl under 20 with no ID in need of a smoke?No problem.
Try the new Yakuza branded cigs for a smooth taste at a bargain price!
(No smugglers or policemen were harmed to bring you this important message)
Brilliant
Now the cool and sophisticated schoolgirls will be the ones who deal with the organized crime to get some fake passports.Good job people!
That is...
...until the cigarettes are RFID tagged and lil' Suzy (replace with Japanese equivalent) walks into the bathroom and past a sensor. Brother Billy (replace with Japanese equivalent) gets a letter and fine (equivalent cost of one Japanese Playstation 3 game) in the mail.I didn't realize how much of a 'big brother' society they lived in.