As annoying as it may be for a non-smoker like me, in Japan the smell of cigarette smoke is as ubiquitous as bespectacled salarymen, sushi, karaoke, Godzilla, tentacle porn and all of the other things that people elsewhere associate with this country (although ninjas are sadly very scare). Having grown up in California, where smoking cigarettes is about as uncouth as knocking up your grandmother, it was a bit of an adjustment getting accustomed to spending nearly every waking hour enshrouded in a cloud cigarette smoke, but I am now depressingly used to it.

Surprisingly (to me, at least), Japanese people regard smoking as little more than a bad habit and there is essentially no education here regarding the many health risks associated with it. Thus, while cigarette packaging in other developed countries contains warnings labels such as “SMOKING WILL MAKE YOUR DICK SHRIVEL UP AND DIE”, in Japan the labels merely say, “There may be a risk of damage to your health, so be careful not too smoke too much.” Why doesn’t the government require stronger warnings? Well, that would be bad for business, seeing as the Japanese government is the largest shareholder in Japan Tobacco (!).

However, feeling pressure from anti-smoking activists and foreign governments alike, Japan Tobacco has implemented a campaign to increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking. Recently, I happened to see one of their new advertisements in the train during my commute:

“WTF?” you ask? Yes, in the typical Japanese “path of least resistance” manner, Japan Tobacco has chosen to focus on the “manners” aspect of smoking, rather than the harmful health risks (”Forget about cancer and birth defects, YOU MIGHT POKE SOMEONE’S EYE OUT!!”). This began a few years ago, with such campaigns as “Smoking Clean” and “Are you a good smoker?” which all focused on educating smokers on proper smoking etiquette. The slogan of the new campaign is “Anata ga kizukeba, manaa ha kawaru” (roughly “If you take notice, your manners will change”).

Um . . . yeah.

I tried to snap a photo of the ad, but unfortunately with the rocking of the train and the stares of everyone else in the carriage wondering why the crazy foreigner was taking pictures of a smoking advertisement, the photo didn’t turn out very well. So instead, I went over to the Japan Tobacco website and found several brilliant examples that are each works of art unto themselves. I promptly stole them and have set up a gallery on this site in order to preserve them for all time. Let the hilarity ensue.