| Most countries in the world have a legal smoking age of 18. Five exceptions are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, and the Netherlands, where the age is 16. Since January 1, 2007, all cigarettes story machines in public places in Germany must attempt to verify a customer's age by requiring the insertion of a debit card. Turkey, which has one of the highest percentage of smokers in its population,[citation needed] has a legal age of 18. Another curiosity is Japan, one of the highest tobacco-consuming nations, which requires purchasers to be 20 years of age (suffrage in Japan is 20 years old).[16] However, due to the prevalence of cigarettes online vending machines in the most public of places, the effectiveness of an underage ban is in doubt.[citation needed] In other countries, such as Egypt or India (especially Kerala), it is legal to use and purchase tobacco products regardless of age. |