CaRe

Want to buy cigarettes? Let's see some wrinkles

Wrinkles could be key to buying cigarettes in Japan

TOKYO - CIGARETTE vending machines in Japan may soon start counting wrinkles, crow's feet and skin sags to see if the customer is old enough to smoke.

The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20 and as the country's 570,000 tobacco vending machines prepare for a July regulation requiring them to ensure buyers are not underage, a company has developed a system to identify age by studying facial features.

By having the customer look into a digital camera attached to the machine, Fujitaka Co's system will compare facial characteristics, such as wrinkles surrounding the eyes, bone structure and skin sags, to the facial data of over 100,000 people, Hajime Yamamoto, a company spokesman said.

'With face recognition, so long as you've got some change and you are an adult, you can buy cigarettes like before. The problem of minors borrowing (identification) cards to purchase cigarettes could be avoided as well,' Mr Yamamoto said.

Japan's finance ministry has already given permission to an age-identifying smart card called 'taspo' and a system that can read the age from driving licences.

It has yet to approve the facial identification method due to concerns about its accuracy.

Mr Yamamoto said the system could correctly identify about 90 percent of the users, with the remaining 10 per cent sent to a 'grey zone' for 'minors that look older, and baby-faced adults', where they would be asked to insert their driving licence.

Underage smoking has been on a decline in Japan, but a health ministry survey in 2004 showed 13 per cent of boys and 4 per cent of girls in the third year of high school - those aged 17 to 18 - smoked every day. -- REUTERS

21ahdan

wow so high tech. if only singapore does it the same. den i wun get checked even though i am old enough -_-

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number 1 GOLDEN mascot X-man retired warrior

Hirakawa

Sorry for those adults with baby face....

JayDee

Ya lor,what if those adult which still have children de look

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shypineapple

japan always come out w/ this kinda of stuffs...cool o.o

My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
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*StarDust*

Bur people who smoke usually looks older than they really are.

tanweizhong

Hai Yah....
If a kid wanna smoke, he will find all means and ways to get a cigarette on his/her hands on lah.

Just pay an old Home less chap or begger some cash to help the kid to buy.
The machine also LAN LAN have to dispense out the cigarette

PinkLady

Conclusion: Dun Smoke, give it up and lead a healthier lifestyle

Tokyo is a cool place to go
& i want My Root Beer Float, Ice-cream Waffle, Curly Fries back!
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Huaikong

haha the jap damned innovative.....

Voodoo Vince

Stupid rule.

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People don't plan to fail... They fail to plan.

platform

might as well scan IC

raph

only can get such stuffs wrkin by the japs...

gnelak

Gosh. Japanese are super good at inventing all these stuffs LOL

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elainesy

omg Japanese alway can come out all kind of funny idea..but ending is it really usefull?

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一夜东风，枕边吹散愁多少。数声啼鸟，梦转纱窗晓。来是春初，去是春将老。长亭道。一般芳草。 只有归时好

theBENDANs

maybe useful to them =x
if adult got baby face den don smoke better haha..

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Weitat1988

ya lo !! this is good
i hate sometimes buying ciggeratte or beer
the auntie give me a very arrogant look
and want to laught like that
asked "xiao di u enough age anot?"

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