What's Your Number?

So Finland recently went under some slight renovations near the cash registers of their grocery stores...

What did they do?

Well, there used to be a panel with photos of cigarette packages on it, and you pressed whichever photo of cigarettes you wanted - and a box would shoot out from a machine and go down a little ramp and plop!  Your cigarettes would be ready on the conveyor belt with your groceries.

But now, you're probably seeing something like this:

See the little ramp underneath?  That's where your smokes will fall from.

The reason for this (if it's like Canada - where they hide the cigarettes/filters and papers) I believe is to discourage smoking and have a healthier life style -especially in younger people.

Mind over matter, if you can't see it - then the temptation is less...who knows.  But it's a start.

And not all cash registers have these panels either!

If you don't know what number is what brand, that's okay!  Just ask the cashier and they have a list of all the types of cigarettes and what number to push.

I had to ask to take this photo because in most grocery stores - you're not allowed taking photos inside.
I mean, sure I could have taken it with my cell phone, but I thought I should probably ask.  The cashier at first thought I wanted to take photos of cigarette boxes - and that I would have to buy them first before taking a photo of them.

I had a "WTF" look on my face and said, "Oh I don't smoke.  I just want to take a photo of the panel for my blog about Finland."

After checking with her supervisor - I was given permission to take a photo as long as it was just of the panel and not of customers or anything else private.

So huge thanks to the lady who let me take a photo inside the grocery store!
Just an FYI - if you're buying cigarettes from different shops - the numbers might not be the same as the other shops.  It's always best to just ask first!

FYI I don't smoke and don't support it - I'm just pointing out something available in Finland for those that do.