Health Hazard: Cigarette Smoking is one of the Major Causes of Lung Cancer! Everyone is aware of the fact that is printed on the cigarette package itself, but how many people implement this in their lives. I have always failed to understand what pleasure does a cigarette puff give to those who smoke. For me a cigarette can only bring ill health not just to those who smoke but also to those who do not smoke. I guess people are so frustrated with their lives that they do not want to live hence take up the habit of cigarette smoking which only brings death after a period of time.
So why do people smoke?
Some smokers will say that they enjoy smoking. Often these are usually intelligent, pleasant people who take care of their personal appearance and hygiene, so why do they do something which makes them smell so badly, gives them bad breath, makes their skin dry and wrinkly, gives them a hacking cough and makes their voices croaky?
Some people smoke because it is a fashion statement to hold a cigarette butt in your hand. Others smoke because it probably ?Makes them feel good and releases their work-day tensions? (not according to any medical survey but because of their own stupid assumptions). In addition, some other people smoke just because they are in the habit of lighting up and have nothing better to do with their hands and mouth!
Most smokers will admit that they enjoy less than four of the cigarettes they smoke each day. The rest they smoke for no better reason than they consider themselves?smokers.?
The main reason people don?t try to give up smoking is because they are afraid.
1. They are afraid that they are addicted and will have to go through ?withdrawal? symptoms.
2. They are afraid that they will ?crave? for a smoke for the rest of their life.
3. They are afraid that they will put on weight. (This I find very amusing coz the whole world seems to be in a fitness frenzy these days)
4. They are afraid of what they will do with their hands.
5. They are afraid that they will become argumentative and have arguments with their partners.
6. They are afraid that it will change them in some negative way.
But I smoke because ?These Others? do not give me a choice. If you are wondering what I am talking about, then let me tell you that I am a passive smoker. I have never held a cigarette in my hand in my entire lifetime and yet I feel I have taken in all that second-hand cigarette smoke from ?These Others.? At the end of my workday, my hair smells like a cigarette butt and my clothes stink as if I have just walked out of a cigarette-producing factory. At the office, chain-smokers surround me. I walk out of the office through the corridor there is cigarette smoke everywhere. There are times when I actually hold my breath and walk past all those ?Smokin Joes? puffing into the air. Why can?t ?These Others? let us live in peace and enjoy the beautiful environment around us? Why do they have to pollute the air and make it so difficult to breathe at times? Are we asking for too much?
If we were living in a country like the United States of America, one puff at a non-smoker and ?Smokin Joe? would land himself in jail. But here in the Middle East, people have lost the very etiquette of courtesy. They do not even bother to ask you whether we mind if they smoke.
A month or two ago the Dubai Government contemplated of banning cigarette smoking in public places. This measure is truly welcome by all who do not smoke especially those working in public places like supermarkets, shopping malls etc. I do hope that such a ban would also be effective in work places as well.
Every year in the United Kingdom alone, approximately 120,000 people die as a direct result of their smoking habit, and it is estimated that at least 1,000 people die each year as a direct result of inhaling second hand cigarette smoke. The most tragic part of these statistics is that victims of smoking related illnesses do not tend to die suddenly and peacefully. They usually die following long and distressing illnesses, which could have been avoided.
So much has been written and said about the perils of cigarette smoking, yet the global economy thrives on it. Just imagine all the goodness without cigarette smoking.
You will definitely have more money; you will have better health, and so will those around you. You will look and fell better, you will smell nicer, your home will smell nicer, you will feel more comfortable in public places. You will be able to afford more or better holidays, clothes, furniture etc. So, what are you waiting for? Give it up today this very moment and see the wonders of it yourself.
SMOKER’S PRAYER
Heavenly Father, hear my plea,
and grant my lungs serenity.
Give me strength to kick the smoking
that’s been causing all my choking.
Let my breath be fresh and clean
without a trace of nicotine.
Each ciggie I smoke so often
Adds another nail in my coffin
Guide me Lord, by your holy means
past all those cigarette machines.
It hurts to hear My Loved ones say
kissing ya’s like lickin’ an ashtray.
Please oh Lord, Hear my voice,
Give me will power, while I have a choice.
I ask your help and it’s no wonder
Because if I don’t quit, I’m six feet under.
By Olivija. www.olivija.com
Author: Ramona Pereira- UAE