Under a thick cloud of smoke on many a Tokyo street corner you’re likely to find dozens of people huddled around designated smoking areas, frantically puffing away on cigarettes and, sadly, seemingly unaware of the immense humour that lays before them on the ashtrays… in sticker form.
Allow me to elaborate. Concerned with the image of it’s 30million or so smokers, Japan Tobacco has, over the years, released a series of public service announcements pertaining to ‘smoking manners’ in a bid to educate the nation’s smokers on the preferred smoking etiquette. These announcements prevail as large stickers displayed on the giant ashtrays around the streets. They can be seen from a mile away, which is a good thing as it means everyone gets to share in the fun, because, intentionally or not, these signs are truly hilarious.
While in Japan, I managed to photograph a lot of these signs (which you can view here), but with over 70 in the official collection, it wasn’t possible for me to get them all … the rest I’ve tracked down online and you can view them here.
Enjoy!
