People usually buy a pack from a vending machine.
All the tobacco vending machines read an ID card called Taspo. The section that reads "taspo" recognizes your card. 
This was my favorite brand. As you see in the first photo, they sell some of this in the vending machine, which shows the popularity of this Marlboro. The message below the logo suggests, "Smoking could worsen your emphysema". I used to smoke a lot but I quit smoking last year. But even now I sometimes feel the urge to smoke especially after hard labor. There were many smokers in Japan a decade ago or so, but according to the survey that was done in May, the percentage of the smoking people shrunk to : men 38%, women 11%. And the smoking sections in restaurants have been on the decrease for many years.
This is because people started to think it is not cool to smoke, and some began to prioritize their health over pleasure. And our government has started to offer subsidies for people who want to have their toxic symptom treated at hospital. And last year an ID card called "taspo" was introduced nationwide. Now the tobacco vending machines in Japan recognize one's age by reading the ID card. Of course people who are at or over 20 can apply for the card and buy cigarettes, but the problem is that to have the ID card people should take an ID photo and fill in the application form. This irksome procedure was a trigger for some people to quit smoking because people usually buy cigarettes from vending machines not face to face at a tobacco shop.
And the newly formed government led by the political party called DPJ started to think of hiking tax for cigarettes, and the price of a pack will be up to around 6 dollars. People say this is relatively cheap compared to other developed countries, but this amount of tax hike would lead more people to kick the habit.
I don't think all the people should quit smoking, as I might smoke again anytime. And I think it's up to individuals to decide whether to smoke or not.
