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My boy, aged 7, once said "Daddy, why do you smoke? Do you know that people die because of smoking?" I then remembered when I was 7, I said the same thing to my Dad. He quit. So I quit.
UITING smoking (cigarettes) is not the easiest effort around. For a non-smoker, it may seem a no brainer. For smokers, they suffer beyond words battling against their addiction, their psychological corrupted state of mind and against pleasure that they enjoy. I suppose many bad habits are pleasures in life - to name a few: alcohol, fatty food, carbonated drinks and many more. To give up something that you actually have pleasure in is definitely soul suffering endeavour. It is a puzzling phenomenon indeed. Why did God create these pleasures when they are forbidden? Let's not get into this religious debate right now and concentrate on the "efforts" to quit smoking. But if you must (answer the question), perhaps accept this as a closure for the time being: The cosmic needs to be balanced, Good vs Evil, Ying and Yang,.. and the like.
I smoked cigarettes for 24 years since the age of 13. I tried to quit 10 years ago but lost the battle. Smoking was too good to be sacrificed. What more when you go clubbing and socialise with friends, artists and youngsters. Also when it help calms you down when stressed at work. This year, after running the 10km Standard Chartered KL Marathon, I decided to quit. It was a natural decision. The first 5km of the run was easy but the final 5km was torturing. There was only one reason, my lungs were unfit with capacity limited to the remaining alveolus (not quite sure how to spell this). I had just upgraded my runs from 5km to 10km. I aim to improve further to 21km and hope to climb Mount Kinabalu. None of these can be achieved if I don't expand my lungs' capacity. That will power that I was lacking 10 years ago had found a new recipe: the urge to be able to run and climb.
6 million people die each year due to the global tobacco epidemic, of which, 600,000 will die from second hand smoke. If the tobacco epidemic continues, by 2030 it will kill 8 million people globally
There are many other motivational reasons to quit. Your wife and kids who share the same house with you breathe in the second hand smoke. You expose them to a risky environment. If they get lung cancer, I don't think you can live your life peacefully (mentally) for the remaining pathetic life of yours. My boy, aged 7, once said "Daddy, why do you smoke? Do you know that people die because of smoking?" I then remembered when I was 7, I said the same thing to my Dad. He quit. So I quit. Here, we establish that not only the health of your family is at stake, you own life is at stake as well! Recently I read in an article that the Guinness Book of World Records declared that the rubbish most littered by humans are cigarette butts. With that declaration, smokers not only pollute the air, they also pollute the landscape. Not good for the environment. Conclusion would be: Love your self. Love your family. Love the environment. Love life itself.
Recently I got a pamphlet from the National Cancer Council, MAKNA, that revealed some interesting facts about smoking as researched by the World Health Organization ('WHO'). Some of the facts are:
2. 6 million people die each year due to the global tobacco epidemic
3. Of which, 600,000 will die from second hand smoke
4. If the tobacco epidemic continues, by 2030 it will kill 8 million people
5. Direct smoking doubles the risk of heart attack
6. Second hand smoke increases the risk by 30%
7. Banning smoking had been proven to reduce threat of heart attacks
It is a criminal offence to smoke in these areas (designated non smoking areas) whereby non compliance can result in fine up to RM10,000 or 2 years of imprisonment
The World Tobacco Day 2012 celebrated on Thursday 31 May 2012 was a platform to train policy-makers and the public to fight against tobacco industry on centre stage to have a better control on the epidemic. Currently the tobacco industry is unwilling to support efforts to fight smoking habits such as the pictorial health warning on cigarette boxes. They even opted to sue countries under bilateral investment treaties that claim the warning is intruding in their branding.
What other ways can we do to stop this bad habit (smoking)? Banning? A study done by the American College of Cardiology published in a journal on 29 September 2009 revealed that banning can reduce threat of heart attacks by 26% which is approximately 15,400 heart attacks annually (in the USA). In Malaysia, banning started in the 1980's and has gradually taken momentum. To date, areas where smoking is banned are: work offices, hospitals/clinics, lifts and toilets, air-conditioned restaurants, public transport, government premises, educational institution, petrol stations, internet cafes and shopping complexes. It is a criminal offence to smoke in these areas whereby non compliance can result in fine up to RM10,000 or 2 years of imprisonment.
In 1604 King James I of England published an anti-smoking treatise that had the effect of raising taxes on tobacco. In 1633 the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV prohibited smoking in his empire
The act of banning smoking is not new. It is only natural that a responsible government ban smoking critically. In the past, many precedent cases suggest that this is not a new battle. In 1575 the Mexican Ecclesiastical Council forbade the use of tobacco in any church in Mexico and Spanish colonies. In 1604 King James I of England published an anti-smoking treatise that had the effect of raising taxes on tobacco. In 1633 the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV prohibited smoking in his empire. In 1590 the Pope Urban VII also prohibited smoking in the Church, followed by Urban VIII. With such regulatory enforcement in place, some smokers still openly reject the ban on smoking in enclosed public areas. Perhaps the police force is busy fighting other crimes such as narcotics and bank robberies?
For years cigarette companies have been claiming that there are no scientific evidence that smoking causes cancer. This can now be put to end. Shocking new research (from the MAKNA-WHO pamphlet) reveals that a specific type of lung cancer many smokers develop comes from tiny tears in their lung tissues caused by microscopic glass fibers, also known as glass wool, found in many conventional cigarette filters. These rips in the soft tissue fuel the development of tumors and cancerous cells due to the constant overload of toxins, namely pesticides, nicotine and ammonia, contained in commercial cigarette smoke.
So you smokers out there. Have I adequately convinced you that you ought to quit smoking? I have used various motivational reasons ranging from hobby to family and from history to scientific discoveries. Perhaps the next step is to seek devine intervention - simply put, no religion in this world allows its followers to commit suicide. Smoking cigarette is, technically speaking, committing suicide. A friend whose wife works at a cancer research organisation once told me "The biological battle when quiting cigarette smoking is only for 2 weeks, after which, there are no more chemical reactions that can cause withdrawal syndroms. Therefore, any craving beyond 2 weeks is just in the mind.". So guys, just try it (quiting smoking). Once you breach the 2 weeks barrier, you should be able to sustain your efforts. I know you can do it - because today, I have quit for 3 months and I feel good!
The biological battle when quiting cigarette smoking is only for 2 weeks, after which, there are no more chemical reactions that can cause withdrawal syndroms. Therefore, any craving beyond 2 weeks is just in the mind
* kopihangtuah
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