S.M.O.K.I.N.G.
S.M.O.K.I.N.G.
smoking. Smoking. SMOKING. SMOKE-ing.
No matter how many times I type the word 'smoking', I can never understand the joy of smoking. Or the benefits of smoking besides releasing stress and helping one to be in cliques.
Back in high school, I was taught that smoking kills us, along with the hows, whys and whats. The usual stuff. We even had to write essays on the effects of smoking in both English and Malay languages COUNTLESS TIMES FOR 10 TO 12 YEARS. Overall, I understand that stress due to problems such as family issues, financial issues and peer pressure; and teenagers' curiosity towards smoking leads to the increasing number of smokers. Yet, why choose the cigarette as your solution to your problems?
If smokers read this post, you'd probably think, 'Do you have a problem with it? You hate smoking? Mind your own business and deal with us smoking!' Nope, I don't have any problems with smokers. It's your lives, you determine your future yourselves. But I'm curious. Why smoke when you'd already know the consequences (99% negative ones) of smoking? Before you start asking me to shut my curiosity away, hear me out first. (It's MY BLOG, anyway.)
I have a bunch of dragons in my family, smoking up to 2 boxes of cigarettes per day. One by one, I see them coughing everyday, worsening and eventually facing frightening and painful diseases which threaten to take their lives away. You may say that they didn't know the harmful effects back in the old days. But for crying out loud, haven't government and NGOs been telling us the hell of smoking? Even if they had started a few years ago, doesn't that make us stop for a while and think, 'Oh, so that's what will happen to smokers. I'd better quit, no matter how hard it will be.' So why continue despite already knowing the truth? The most popular reason for not stopping is that the addiction gives them difficulty in doing so. Well, take this from me. You know what is more difficult? The regret after knowing that you are on your way to death in a very torturing manner. The tears your loved ones would shed when they see you dying slowly. You want to say, "If only I had stopped smoking." Sorry, too late for that.
And for the younger generations, why start when the truth has already set in your minds? Lack of exposure and awareness towards the effects of smoking is just a lame excuse to start smoking. Not forgetting the 'fact' that smoking helps you to get friends and release stress. Plus the 'fact' that smoking is a trend. What nonsense?! This may sound harsh but the real fact is that you are selfish, not thinking of yourself and your loved ones and neglecting your health just because of these pathetic excuses and 'facts'.
Lack of exposure and awareness? Bullshit. Look everywhere and you will see tons of campaigns, websites and advertisements screaming 'Smoking kills you!!' Oh they even included details and evidence too.
I'm stressed. Smoking helps me to relax. Sure, inhale those deadly chemicals, exhale puffs of smoke, relax and die your way out of your problems. There are many HEALTHY ways to relax and to think of solutions to your issues. It's the matter of choosing the right ones.
This cool gang said that I can join them if I smoke like them. Really? If they were to be genuine about friendship, I bet they wouldn't force you to kill yourself simply to join them? And what's so cool about smoking when it only ends up killing you?
I know smoking is bad but I'm doing this because I need my parents. I know that many teenagers hunger for their super-busy parents' attention and they turn to smoking, thinking that this would help their parents to notice them more often. For most cases, it works but what will you get in the end? Your parents' attention, if you're lucky, and a number of life-threatening diseases, if you're addicted. Is it worth doing so? Although parents who neglect their children are also at fault, I honestly think that these children too, are to be blamed. By smoking, aren't you neglecting and hurting yourselves just like your parents?
Smoking is a trend. You get more accepted by the society. And to be kicked out from the society. Seriously? Killing yourself is a trend?
Celebrities smoke. They don't have any health problems. Please do more research on them. Compare them with the non-smoker celebrities. Who has the healthier glow?
My parents smoke. My family smoke. My this and that smoke. Well, join them when they want to commit suicide. Smoking is just a slower method of committing suicide.
I want to stop smoking, but it's really hard. I can't quit. There are plenty of volunteers who have ideas to help you in this. What you should be questioning yourself is, 'Am I really going to quit?' If you're REALLY into stopping this unhealthy lifestyle, nobody and nothing can stop you.
Many seniors whom I respect went to study overseas and came back as smokers, giving me the same old reasons. I was shocked and didn't know what to say. My first reaction, however, was losing respect towards them. Then, I read a senior's blog on her smoking lifestyle. She posted something like this: 'Just because I smoke, it doesn't mean that I'm a piece of shit.' And it suddenly hit me. Smokers are always thought to be the 'lower' people, people who are nothing but useless junk. They lost the respect and it affects them in many ways.
So, I started thinking back about my seniors. Their personalities, achievements and how they treated me as a junior, what made me look up to them so much. Then, I thought that smoking tarnished every good image of them. Yet, they are still the same, maintaining whatever I love and respect in them. The only difference is that they smoke. No, it's not right for me to look down on them simply because they smoke. They are still capable human beings with good manners, inspiring me to do well in education and my future career. They deserve my respect. However, I can only never respect their decision for killing themselves.
It's not right for us to judge a person's ability by seeing if they smoke or not. It's not right for us to determine who smokers are unless we know them really well. If they have earned the respect they deserve, then respect them. Just because they smoke, that doesn't mean that they are not as good as us. If you want to talk about disrespect, question their decision to smoke. Question whether they have thought of themselves and their loved ones.
My father is a smoker. I respect him as my father who has been taking care of me. But I don't respect him for smoking because I often ask, 'What would happen if one day, you succumb to all your diseases, just because you smoke? What would happen to our family? DO YOU NOT LOVE US?'
p/s: I smoked shisha once and I didn't like it at all. I told a senior what I did and in an instant, I could see all the respect he has for me was gone. You see, we can't blame people for not respecting us simply because we smoke. It's natural for them to respect us or not. In a way, it's wrong to simply judge us by that. But at the same time, we have to blame ourselves too. We are not even respecting ourselves by smoking. How do you expect others to respect you when you don't respect yourself in the first place?
No comments:
Post a Comment