There is a thing within Japanese culture that I haven’t really understood yet. Namely the contradiction I see regarding public smoking and wearing facemasks in public. The usage of facemasks I am referring to right now is the usage as it already was before covid.
In Japan it is very common to wear facemasks in public. I’ve heard being said that people do this to protect others when they have a cold, however so many people use it that the usage seems broader than that (because it would be peculiar if the majority of people any given time would feel sick). As I understand it, this behavior is mostly consideration and respect towards other people, protecting them from transmitting any diseases. This seems to be taken very seriously.
Then on the other side there’s the phenomenon that a very large amount of the population smokes and that public/indoor smoking has been so normal for many decades. When seeing real footage of Japan of the last 50 years it is shocking to me how much people smoke, especially indoors in the close company of others as if there’s no way it could damage the other person’s health or disturb them.
I think it’s interesting how these two extremes can contradict eachother and I haven’t ever heard anyone noticing it so I thought about writing a post to hear about your views on the subject. Ofcourse times change and public/indoor smoking has decreased. But I still thought that I might have been missing something. How do you people view this?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/13ezdr4/japan_public_smoking_and_facemask_contradiction/
13 comments
Let alone Japanese movies and series! It seems like half of the budget of the movies has been put into cigarettes 😀
I’m probably gonna get banned for this but Japan has a lot of “community mindset” as in “i don’t know the reason why i’m doing this but if others do it, then I have to follow suit”.
I’m not saying Japanese people are bad or anything like that. I do think they don’t do these herd things out of goodness but out of blending in with others and avoiding conflict.
They wear masks cause others are doing it. If most people stopped, they’d also stop.
>however so many people use it that the usage seems broader than that
The official excuse for wearing one is always being/feeling sick, but there’s lots of reasons. Many people wear a mask for aesthetic reasons. Crooked teeth, yellow teeth, big nose, etc. Or because they didn’t want to put on makeup, so they only do their eyes and wear a mask. Some hide nose or lip piercings where these are unacceptable (i.e. at work or school). Lots more reasons, I’m sure.
I too love it when an old dude is sporting his chin diaper while puffing on a lung dart. So confusing.
I’ve observed this as well. You see people lining up to get into one of the enclosed smoking areas all with masks on. Then they get into the smoking area, take the mask off and deliberately breath in, out and everything about for a couple of minutes, then put the mask on again and leave.
I was just in Japan and saw barely anyone smoking. Definitely less than I walk by in my Canadian city. I did walk by the rear side of an office building designated smoking area and a few people were outside and they all seemed to be using the same vape pen thing, not even real cigarettes.
I don’t think it’s that surprising. Tobacco has been around longer than the knowledge that masks prevent transmission of diseases. The negative consequences of smoking were, shall we say, not fully embraced despite sufficient evidence. There is an element of selfishness when it comes to satisfying one’s addiction. And even when you say, it was 2011 or so when indoor smoking was banned (mostly), by then people knew it hurt themselves and others, wtf? Humans are uniquely able to hold two contradictory points of view in their heads and not care about the missing logic.
The principal at my son’s preschool always takes his mask down to talk. Freaking cracks me up. Love that old guy, not even sure how he’s still alive but he always gives me a chuckle
No, at least in Tokyo. When people want to smoke they go to a designated area, sometimes a glass box or modified shipping container. They don’t just smoke anywhere they like. Also some businesses cater to smokers and it’s generally understood that those places allow smoking. You know that before going there.
Some people wear a mask and don’t smoke.
Some people don’t wear a mask and don’t smoke.
Some people wear a mask and smoke.
Some people don’t wear a mask and smoke.
They’re two different things. Obviously smoking is bad and wearing a mask during a pandemic (or when sick) is ideal, but you’re never gonna get 100% perfect on anything.
As an ex-smoker I should say that smokers are addicted, and while it might be as extreme as severe alocoholism or any drug addiction, it does cloud your judgment.
Smoking is not a communicable disease.
To smokers smoking is akin to eating and drinking so one would obviously remove their make to smoke. Same way as someone at a restaurant would take their mask off while inside