Jump to full article: The Guardian (uk), 2008-05-13
Author: Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Intro: Teenage smokers in Japan could soon be taking their last illicit puffs thanks to the introduction of cigarette-vending machines that can spot underage customers just by looking at them.
The machines are equipped with a digital camera that can compare users' facial characteristics with a database of more than 100,000 people.
Their ability to spot sagging skin, wrinkles around the eyes and other signs of maturity means underage smokers - in Japan anyone under 20 - will have to look elsewhere for their nicotine fix.
Though the machines have yet to be approved amid doubts about their accuracy, their maker, Fujitaka, believes they will be indispensable to attempts to cut smoking rates among teenagers.
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