On smoking, pneumothorax and Arashi fandom.

[drigby]

Aiba’s hospitalization has somehow forced me to examine fandom and what being a fan meant. This self-examination has even led to my first actual LJ post.

The first time I heard that Aiba was hospitalized for recurrence of pneumothorax, I was worried for him. But after learning that he walked into the hospital to have himself checked up for some

Comments

[barbosa2007]

I just had to comment after reading your post.

Having been to Japan on some trips (I've never stayed there, though), I feel that the prevalence of smoking is due to a few factors:

1. The relative accessibility of cigarettes in Japan
2. A social smoking culture among adults (particularly males)
3. The prevalence of public smoking areas, even in eateries

Even though the legal smoking age in Japan is 20 years, cigarettes can still be bought from vending machines as long as you have a Taspo card. Smoking is also considered a social habit, and having dined at small local eateries, these places don't have non-smoking seats. So smoking is largely tolerated in Japan, and some fathers openly smoke in front of their children.

I'm not trying to say that smoking is acceptable, but perhaps to put things into perspective to explain that it's not a phenomenon that is limited to male idols.

[ninodaisuki83]

I'm not sure how I landed on your page, but I'm glad I did.

I know the boys are not these sparkly perfect human beings, and am realistic about this, but actually did not know they were smokers. (This may be because I'm a newbie fan of ~10 months, and still have a lot of catching up to do.)

But this puts things regarding Aiba's past hospitalization(s) more in perspective, so I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the matter!

[maimailove13]

Hi there, I actually landed on your page after reading your comment on Arama.

I actually love reading fellow fans' perspective on things like this. I think that you're normal for not reacting that way on Aiba's hospitalization, some fans are just overreacting over things. I would have reacted the same way as you are. Think about things objectively.

I think Arashi smoking is accepted but totally not fine. Of course we care about their health, but what they do on TV and performances are not related to them smoking. But I also wish they'd stop smoking now, especially Nino whose gums are already purple.