IE 2 Newpaper Article #4

"Office snack stands tempting hungry staff” The Yomiuri Shimbun 12 July 2008

Summary:
Employees working overtime use “snack stands” to keep their hunger away with some chips and chocolates. Several food manufactures including Ezaki Glico Co. operate the stands and apply an “honor system” in which workers put money in a box whenever they buy a snack. Some use this service to overcome a desire to smoke and to satisfy the hunger they feel after they quit smoking. According to company managers, they appreciate the security benefits of the snack stands which help reduce the number of employees leaving and reentering office buildings. In this way, this business has grown rapidly and is said to reach 3 billion yen in a year. Convenience store chains also raise their hands to gain a share by promoting their snack food vending machines including rice balls.

Option Statement:
If snacking falls into a habit, I worry if health problems such as obesity and metabolic syndrome have increased as a result. In think that some can stop themselves from snacking or try to finish working as quickly as possible if snack stands are out of reach.
I wonder if there is another option.

Discussion Questions:
1)What do you think about the situation in which snack stands and snack food vending machines in office buildings have increasing?

2)Do you think that this service is good for security purpose?

3)What do you feel about eating food at work and when working overtime or when seeing someone doing the same thing?