You know, there is a major global issue that we aren't going to talk about in the class, but it is killing MILLIONS of people every year. That's right, it's smoking. Japan has just signed an internation agreement to lower the rates of smoking in Japan, and they are going to introduce such measures as ID cards for vending machines, so that is a step in the right direction. However, I think that the efforts to reduce smoking in Japan are going to be quite an uphill battle. For one thing, I read in the paper that something like 25% of all doctors and nurses smoke in Japan, this is compared to 3% in the west. I wonder why there is such a difference. If your doctor smokes, how likely is it that he is going to recommend that you quite smoking? I think the key is to raise the price of cigarettes sky high, ban all public smoking, and make it completely illegal for minors to smoke. Plus, all tobacco advertising should be banned, and graphic warnings should be put on packs of cigarettes. This isn't just a matter of personal choice. Second hand smoke causes cancer. People who smoke are killing the other people around them.

There . . . that's my two cents.