Out and about today we passed this......
A tobacco vending machine, but no ordinary tobacco machine.
A tobacco vending machine that scans your eye to determine whether you are an adult, and thereby able to legally buy cigarettes. It seems to work... sadly it knew Hiro and I were both eligible to buy cigarettes.
Tobacco vending machines have become taboo since the powers that be decided that cigarettes dispensed this way are accessible to minors. Rather than outlawing the machines or removing them from suburban streets, TASPO cards were introduced. The swipe cards, issued by Japan Tobacco to adults who register, enable the vending machine to be used.
Perhaps the powers that be have recognised that a minor with access to a card, still has access to cigarettes...hence the need for eye scan technology....
Imagine what could be achieved if this amount of money and effort was spent solving real problems!
(I have put it on extra large so you can see the cigarette price - 300Y {around $3.80AUD / $3.30 USD} )
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