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3 Japanese wage court battle against Japan Tobacco

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Public smoking in businesses should be banned. We all know that second hand smoke can cause cancer and it's bad for you. Govenment generates substantical tax revenue from cigerattes, and that government saids money is more important then killing peoples lives. Can Japan change the way? I doubt it.

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TheQuestion

it's becoming increasingly difficult for me and my abuelo to reminisce over a fine cigar.

Yes, that is sad. There are those who can enjoy a smoke now and then without being addicted or polluting. But the restrictions and regulations are there to limit the damage done by and to the masses. You and the few don't fit in the equation, unfortunately.

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If the governments of ANY country (not just Japan) really cared more for our health, and less about the tobacco industry, then tobacco smoking would be illegal... and it should be.

noborito:

In addition we get the added benefit of watching you kill yourselves

...well that's a pretty nasty thing to say.

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People here talking about how they want their family free from smoke in restaurants but it's the mothers and fathers who are actually smoking in those places. It's really sick to see a mother beside her kindergarten kid, huffing and puffing.

I always choose the non-smoker seats for my family, but it's not completely sealed off, so some smoke must be seeping in. I can smell it.

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agree with the article that "They have a long way to go."

however doing something is always better than doing nothing. thanks for this 3 people.

one very interesting way i have seen is this one

http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings/Thailand%20-%20warnings.htm

http://www.albionmonitor.com/0205a/copyright/thaicigarettead.html

all tobacco box is requested to print a health warning both graphic and text that covers at least 50% of all sides. and it will be at the expend of the tobacco companies!

no expensive fancy campaign like japanese smart card system. no price increasing. from what i can remember, it is still around 100-120 yen a pack! they has been doing this for many year already. and that happen by the government willingly trying to stop the younger from start smoking.

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The corporation has argued in Yokohama District Court that it has no case to answer because smokers are free to quit anytime, smoking is legal and cancer has multiple causes.

Exactly.

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Tobacco is a legalized drug. So is alcohol. Both can kill. The difference is that alcohol fumes from the breath of the drunks don't kill, but second hand smoke could. Neither of the two are going to be banned anytime soon, as that would create an underground industry with more hazards than the status quo... Doubling or tripling the prices will.

You had me up until the last part. I smoke Dominican cigars a few times a month in the states and Cubans when I'm on business trips and the price of tobacco is already outrageously high. It's not an addiction for me (thats not denial thats me being practical) its a cultural thing that I indulge in as a hobby and between the rising taxes and the public restrictions it's becoming increasingly difficult for me and my abuelo to reminisce over a fine cigar.

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It seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other to me. On the negative side, the health costs for smokers is higher than for others. On the plus side, they die younger so they don't drain the old age pension system as long as non-smokers.

Which is the more cost effective option....

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You don't get extra days of being young for not smoking , you get to be an nasty old twat lying neglected in your own piss in a ghastly care home because you outstayed your welcome.

The young children of two of my friends who recently died in their early forties (both heavy smokers) might disagree. Or is that considered "old" already?

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One of the best thing about being a smoker is knowing you won't have to end your days in a old folks home with non-smokers of the type one associates with the fascist comments on this page.

You don't get extra days of being young for not smoking , you get to be an nasty old twat lying neglected in your own piss in a ghastly care home because you outstayed your welcome.

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Sounds just like the war waged between a bunch of cancer patients in the U.S. and big companies such as Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. Frankly, it is a tough battle, but one that I hope will push towards the side of the nonsmoker. One way to stop this image of smoking is to ban it completely from movies. It is appalling that tobacco continues to be featured in movies, especially by Hollywood.

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I don’t want to live an extra year or two by giving up what I love to do,” said Kishi, 28, manager at a consultancy.

Well, yes, he may lose a year or two, but the few preceeding years will be hell for him as he struggles to breathe, coughs non-stop, and basically is confined to bed. And that's after his smoke has affected people around him. And I bet he expects non-smoking taxpayers to finance his medical treatment for a disease which could have been avoided.

Smokers: smoke all you like, but do it away from me and pay for your own treatment when the rot sets in.

As one poster said, JT doesn't only sell cigarettes. I do NOT buy any sort of drinks like green tea made by JT. I make it a point to check who the makers are.

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As stated, not only does the J-government own one-half of JT, but they also get 60% of the cost of every pack of cigarettes sold here in the form of taxes. The finances of Japan simply could not take the hit from a huge change to smoking practices here.

That's true, but wouldn't the health insurance system save a heck of a lot in health care costs if people quit?

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In April, a major restaurant chain opened Cafe Tobacco, a Tokyo coffee shop billing itself as a haven for smokers.

I'm all for this. Let all the smokers enjoy themselves in such smoker havens, and clean up other cafes and restaurants so my family and I can breathe some clean air.

I don’t want to live an extra year or two by giving up what I love to do,” said Kishi, 28, manager at a consultancy.

Typical selfish smoker attitude. He doesn't care about the effect of his smoking on others (including children and babies, if he's anything like the smokers I encounter here daily who won't hesitate to light up around small children).

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People here are talking about non smoking bars etc. There is one I know of in Osaka. I have never seen more than 2 people in it at any one time, during any day of the week. I hate the smell of smoking so much that I hardly go out anymore unless I am far from tobaccos disgusting stench.

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Tobacco is a legalized drug. So is alcohol. Both can kill. The difference is that alcohol fumes from the breath of the drunks don't kill, but second hand smoke could. Neither of the two are going to be banned anytime soon, as that would create an underground industry with more hazards than the status quo. Choosing to smoke and/or to drink are personal choices with personal responsibilities. Suing a corporation makes sense only when there is evidence that it has misled the public. Starting a legal battle after decades of smoking, stating that only now one has found out that it was bad for health is something I put into the category of fairy tales. Putting gruesome pictures on the cigarette packages does not really have much effect. Doubling or tripling the prices will. Expecting to be educated and drilled in every aspect of one's life is too easy. One has to make the effort to educate oneself. Don't want to make the effort? Then bear the consequences.

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Good for them!!! Keep fighting. It really turns my stomach to see restaurants who obviously market to children continue to allow smoking. Yes I'm talking to you, burger joints. The biggest and most disgusting one that gives aways free toys and sells "Happy Meals", being McDonalds. I'm certainly not very happy when a smoker blows in my face while I'm trying to eat. Also, DO NOT buy Japan Tobacco's drinks and health products. That's irony for ya!!

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"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'" So it says in the Bible. That was leprosy of course but smoking is the modern leprosy. The three are asking for a total of 30 million yen. Why? Who forced them or their unfortunate relatives to smoke? Despite what we hear there are worse things than smoking. Sure it's bad for you. But so is breathing, alcohol, baseball ... And there are worse things. For me it's one of the few positive things about Mr. Obama. Makes him seem almost human.

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Japan Tobacco Inc, a former monopoly still half-owned by the government

In this case the lawyer needs to ask the three "Gretchen questions":

"Judge do we have the right for a fair trail?" "Can a fail trail be granted if there is a conflict of interest?" "Whom are you representing?"

As the judge is representing the state and the state owns half of the company in question, there is an obvious conflict of interest which makes a fair trail impossible.

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My current favourite restaurant is in Akasaka (no names mentioned) and has a chef who produces great food (the Toscana fries are something else). Some people say they have the best oysters in Tokyo, from such far-flung places as Ireland, the US, Australia, Hokkaido and Miyagi (the Japanese oysters are huge). I am amazed that a chef who produces such good food allows people to smoke all over the food he has trained for years and worked so hard to produce. But it's the mentality here, because if he made his restaurant non-smoking there are so many cigarette smokers in Japan that he would lose a lot of money in lost business. If Japan educated it's people about smoking and banned the fashionable image of cigarettes here, they would then have less smokers and it would be easy for restaurant owners and chefs to ban smoking altogether. A lot of us non-Japanese on this site complain strongly about people smoking all over us in restaurants, but this boils down to the responsibility of the government and it's advertising censorship bodies.

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There is a disgraceful TV commercial currently being run by Japan Tobacco, which would be completely illegal in almost any other country in the world. They show a happy scene where elementary school-age children are being taught volleyball by famous members of the pro Volleyball league here in Japan. Lots of laughing and fun. The commercial ends with some kind of corporate message from Japan Tobacco. The message is basically, children + sport + have fun + become a successful sportsman or woman = Japan Tobacco. The government should be ashamed of allowing such a criminal message to be played out to the nation.

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Japan tobacco - a bloody disgrace. The sooner smoking is banned in all public places the better. I really detest having to breathe in smoke while I eat my donut at "Mister Donut".

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bobbafett 10000% true. Japanese amaze me everyday.

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More money for the lawyers!! Good for the legal community.

Just ask Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn.

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japan tobacco shud change its name to NIPPON GAN!

People be sure to watch this company also sells canned coffee & the like I ALWAYS make sure I never buy their crap.

Cigs are kept at a low price to keep the masses pacified & to take in tax revenue, NIPPON GAN doesnt care about Jpn it only cares about itself!

Japan Tobacco officials still flatly deny passive smoking is a problem, arguing that the dangers come from burning cigarettes left on an ashtray — not secondhand fumes.

Stupid beyond belief, but many here do believe, I hope they are the ones who come down with the big G!

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Wish these folks luck, but as they themselves admit, they are not likely to succeed. Too much vested interest here opposed to them. As stated, not only does the J-government own one-half of JT, but they also get 60% of the cost of every pack of cigarettes sold here in the form of taxes. The finances of Japan simply could not take the hit from a huge change to smoking practices here. What I find most discouraging, however, is not that a bunch of old salerymen who have been smoking for years want to continue killing themselves with "Mild" Seven. What I think is most problematic is that young men and women still believe that smoking somehow makes them more manly or sophicticated. Are they that impressionable -- still? In most other advanced countries that perception died years ago.

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I was even told recently by a friend that smoking is good for you and Japanese don't get cancer because it was a western problem

is this the truth? it seem unlikely.

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Japan please stop, stop not smoking. Please smoke. We need your money in America. WE have a great scam going. We produce the tobacco, then when you get cancer, we supply the drugs to maybe help cure you. In addition we get the added benefit of watching you kill yourselves. We have a wonderful scam. (I was even told recently by a friend that smoking is good for you and Japanese don't get cancer because it was a western problem." Loved it. Keep your head in the sand.

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And in fact, in the U.S. the battle hinged not so much on the fact that people came down with catastrophic illnesses--to this day, most of those lawsuits have been won by the tabacco companies--but on the emergence of proof that the tabacco companies intentionally manipulated nicotine levels in their products to increase the potential for addiction. This angle has never been explored in similar lawsuits in Japan, and, given the monopolistic nature of the industry here, is unlikely to have much chance of emerging as plaintiff's tool going forward.

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Well best of luck of course. But japan is a cancer country and cancer sticks will always win hands down.

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