All this talk about the Japanese and smoking and by coincidence, this article:
Japan Palace to Stop Giving Away Cigarettes
Thu Jun 9, 8:38 AM ET
Japan's imperial palace said Thursday it will end its century-old tradition of giving specially made cigarettes as gifts to employees, volunteers and others amid a nationwide anti-smoking drive.
Although Japan's smoking rate remains one of the highest in the developed world, smoking has been banned in public facilities, hospitals and a growing number of restaurants.
New laws require tougher warnings on cigarette packages, and Parliament is considering restrictions on outdoor advertising.
Japan's Imperial Household Agency said it will stop giving away the cigarettes as gifts beginning April, 2007. It cited a declining rate of smokers in the country.
But the palace will not be smoke-free, and the agency said it will continue offering cigarettes to visitors who smoke.
In a tradition going back more than 100 years, the palace has given soldiers, foreign guests and others gifts of cigarettes — usually in white boxes of 20 cigarettes, each imprinted with a gold chrysanthemum flower — a symbol of the imperial throne.
Japan Tobacco, then a government monopoly, started producing the imperial cigarettes in 1934, said Japan Tobacco spokesman Kei Koro.
The number of chrysanthemum cigarettes dropped to 1.4 million in 2003 from 280 million in 1944, Koro said.
Japan's overall smoking rate fell for the ninth consecutive year in 2004 to just below 30 percent of adult population, according to Japan Tobacco, which sells nearly two-thirds of the country's tobacco products.
The Finance Ministry holds a 50 percent stake in the company.
Japan Palace to Stop Giving Away Cigarettes
Thu Jun 9, 8:38 AM ET
Japan's imperial palace said Thursday it will end its century-old tradition of giving specially made cigarettes as gifts to employees, volunteers and others amid a nationwide anti-smoking drive.
Although Japan's smoking rate remains one of the highest in the developed world, smoking has been banned in public facilities, hospitals and a growing number of restaurants.
New laws require tougher warnings on cigarette packages, and Parliament is considering restrictions on outdoor advertising.
Japan's Imperial Household Agency said it will stop giving away the cigarettes as gifts beginning April, 2007. It cited a declining rate of smokers in the country.
But the palace will not be smoke-free, and the agency said it will continue offering cigarettes to visitors who smoke.
In a tradition going back more than 100 years, the palace has given soldiers, foreign guests and others gifts of cigarettes — usually in white boxes of 20 cigarettes, each imprinted with a gold chrysanthemum flower — a symbol of the imperial throne.
Japan Tobacco, then a government monopoly, started producing the imperial cigarettes in 1934, said Japan Tobacco spokesman Kei Koro.
The number of chrysanthemum cigarettes dropped to 1.4 million in 2003 from 280 million in 1944, Koro said.
Japan's overall smoking rate fell for the ninth consecutive year in 2004 to just below 30 percent of adult population, according to Japan Tobacco, which sells nearly two-thirds of the country's tobacco products.
The Finance Ministry holds a 50 percent stake in the company.