Cigarette machines like this are all over the place - near bus stations, on the sides of buildings, etc. In Japan you can buy alcohol, cigarettes, soda, underwear - just about anything - in vending machines. At first glance, I thought anyone could just come up and buy cigarettes but Germans are a little more ingenious than that.
Do you see a contraption on the right side of the orange panel that says "Open"? That is a card reader - people have to swipe their German ID cards there and, if they are the right age, then they can make their purchase.
Of course, it begs the question - I wonder if Germany has a lot of ID cards stolen?? What is the punishment if you loan your ID card to some underage kid so they can buy cigarettes? Do these machines keep track of your purchases and report them to some central data gathering location? I have some investigating to do!
An interesting point - a new law went into effect recently that bans smoking from restaurants and bars and bus/train stations. The media has reported a dramatic drop in beer sales.
No comments:
Post a Comment