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Japan Travel

Crafty Kids in Japan Determined to Get Their Smokes

June 27, 2008 at 1:45 PM | 0 Comments

In an effort to keep underage kids from buying, new cigarette vending machines in Osaka have facial recognition cameras. The scanners look for wrinkles and other signs of age before greenlighting the purchase of a pack.

But some crafty kids in Japan have come up with a work-around: They simply hold up a magazine photo of someone older and the machine gives them the OK.

The manufacturer of the machines says a new system that can't be fooled will be ready to go soon. Funny thing is, there's already something more effective: Japan's Taspo program--RFID cards used for age verification--will be installed on machines nationwide by next month.

Related Stories:
· Taspo [Official Site]
· Magazine Photos Fool Age-Verification Cameras [Pink Tenticle, via]
· Osaka Field Trip [Jaunted]
· Osaka coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: PT]