Whether you are smoker or not, we all know quite a lot about tobacco smoking. We see it in the movies, in advertisements, your favorite TV shows, and out in the streets among other places. It was brought to my attention that there are a lot more smokers in the Japan than there are in most of our countries of origin. Well, there are many aspects that may lead someone to think so, and there are also many varied opinions about it, both from smokers and non-smokers. So, for the sake of not making any bias comments on whether you should smoke or not, I'll just throw in some facts and opinions I have collected and let you be the judge.

1.Who is to be blamed? Well, some say the media portrays smoking as something cool or even fashionable that makes young viewers want to smoke in order to be cool among their friends. Some put it as if the act of smoking a cigarette goes well with wearing jeans and leather jacket, like matching the color of your shoes with a handbag. It is supposed to also enhance the image one wants to portray. For example, men's toughness and macho attitude, or women's classy fashion. If you asked me, I would tell you that I have noticed that a lot of the old classic American movies had their main characters constantly smoke. The handsome and mysterious man would offer a cigarette to the bombshell blonde in the movie and it was the coolest way to pick her up then. Lately, I don't see as much smoking in movies as I see sex scenes. In contrast, I see much more smoking in Japanese TV as compared to American TV. But, we may be watching different channels.

Additionally, there are tobacco advertisements all over the place in Japan; on the train, billboards, on top of buildings and on their sides. Additionally, tobacco is widely available to anyone who wants to smoke regardless of their age, thanks to vending machines that do not check your ID before purchase. But it isn't only the omnipresence of tobacco advertisements in Japan, but how the message is conveyed in them. Take this for example: "Smoking too much may affect your health. Try not to smoke too much." Such is what's written in cigarette packs in Japan. It may imply that smoking like a chimney is what would kill you, therefore, controlled smoking is not bad at all. Another example is WHO's slogan on the World Non-smoking day which was "Don't be duped - tobacco kills". Instead, in Japan it was changed to "One cigarette shortens everyone's life". Notice the difference between “shortens” and “kills”. Is it perhaps an unconscious mistake? I'll leave that up to you.

2.On who's side is everyone on? I wasn't all that surprised when I read that Japan's Ministry of finance owns about 66% of Japan's Tobacco industry. It is explained in much more detailed in Japan's Tobacco Business Law which primarily states that tobacco related production and sales contributes to maintain a “stable financial income and allow for the rightful growth of the public economy”. Furthermore, the law states that Japan's government must own at least 50% of the industry which, up until 1985 was a government's monopoly.

In the case of non-smokers in Japan's workplace, I have heard some really odd accounts. For instance, I was told that besides making coffee and/or tea for their bosses or visiting clients, female employees often have to clean the ashtrays whether if they are smokers or not. I also heard that an employee brought his case to court requesting that a policy be put in place regarding tobacco in his office. The case was dismissed on the grounds that the request was a “perseverance matter” (whatever they mean by that).

3.What's it like to smoke actively? What's it like to smoke passively? For those who smoke, there are all types of reasons why the smoke: it is part of a social bonding, an aid to contemplation, a reaction to depression or unhappiness, the stepping stone of moving from being just a teenager to becoming an adult, or just plain personal pleasure. For some, it's even an individualistic act, to be oneself and exalt one's independence.

It also is a way to disconnect from the mundane life and have your own personal moment of relaxation. They say it even makes your food taste even better! While some have a morning coffee to start their days, others get a energy pumping morning cigarette that is almost ritual. And why should one quit? Some say that trying to quit makes you crave a cigarette even more, you gain weight faster and you easily get stressed out or even angry. Besides, it is one's own body and one can do with his or her own body as he or she pleases. One could also argue that if smoking bothers other people, then so does other types of pollution in the world such as car and factory's emissions into the atmosphere, and that smoking does not contribute to such radical and more dangerous effects in a massive scale. There are even articles out there that there are benefits to smoking such as reducing the risk of cancer of the endometrium (membrane lining of the uterus).

And what is it like for those who don't smoke? For non-smokers there are reasons why not to smoke and why to have others don't smoke around them, just like smokers have reasons why they smoke and why they wouldn't quit smoking. Predominantly, we all know that smoking is bad to your health. It causes or increases the risk of cancer, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissue), lose bone density, thus increasing osteoporosis (causes older people to bend over and break bones much easily), it can even cause fertility problems on both men and women. For those who tried it ever (whether if you continued or not to smoke) it took a few times to get used to it, caused a bit of pain and some even got sick. This is because your body is reacting to the induction of poison and it is protecting you from harming yourself.

Besides the long term health problems that smoking carries, there are more obvious and very unattractive consequences of smoking. Smoker's breath smell bad. That plain and simple. Most, I hope (in some countries more or less than others), brush their teeth. Unfortunately, brushing your teeth will not stop you from developing halitosis, a condition that is a chronic (permanent)bad breath. Smokers' teeth also deteriorate over time (some faster than others depending on how much they smoke and how they practice dental hygiene) causing some really unattractive and un-cool discoloring of teeth (yellow, brown, and even black), along with gum reduction which leaves gaps in between your teeth. And although smokers do sports, their performance is impaired due to the accelerate heart rate, shortness of breath and decreased circulation, which later own turns them into “couch-potatoes”.

A non-smoker would not one to be around smokers because it makes your clothes and hair smell to tobacco, just like when you go to a Yakiniku restaurant and when you get home you still have the smell on your clothes. For some, due to sensitive eyes, allergies or other conditions, it makes you cough, get eye redness or make your food taste not as good. Needless to mention, that kissing a smoker (when you are a non-smoker) makes you think about it twice due to the breath smell, the alligator looking teeth or that black tongue!

And, if you do practice Judo, jiujutsu or wrestling, having that your opponent breathing heavily while pinning him/her or being pinned is one really does take some energy out of you. Smokers that think there are much more disturbing things like pollution, water contamination and so on, they do have a point. But when I am walking down the street or am at a public place and really have a need to release some gas, I hold it so that I don't disgust others with the fragrance; it's common courtesy. Instead, when someone smokes all over my dinner or my clothes, I should late out “my smoke” as a gracious response to his gesture.

Think you want to smoke, quit, help someone quit or tell someone why they should let you smoke? It's your call.