Picture this: Brad Pitt puts a cigarette between his lips; he takes a puff and blows smoke out of his mouth. Tom Cruise takes out a pack of cigarettes,lights one up and for a moment, his face stands illuminated behind the flame of his lighter. Heartbroken Shah Rukh Khan smokes a cigarette one after the other, and the ashtray on his side full of cigarette butts as he sits thinking about his beloved. Or better yet, Robert De Niro throws a cigarette butt on the floor and crushes it aggressively.
How appealing does that sound?
Now imagine this: a skeleton lying on a death bed, frail and ferociously coughing, and dying a gradual death from man’s worst killer – lung cancer. How does that feel?
It isn’t so appealing now,is it?
Yesterday, I was waiting in my car while the driver got off to accept something from a shop and I saw two children around 14 or 15 smoking. They had one cigarette, and which they shared. I could see one of them taking a puff and passing it to the other as they giggled.
I sat watching them,wishing that I could tell them that the smoke wasn’t the only thing they were blowing away – it was also their futures. I didn’t say anything but I also didn’t forget. The smiles on those two faces lingered in my intellect all day.
whether we take a minute to look around, we’ll notice many people around us smoking. From family members to friends and colleagues, or to strangers at bus stops – the list goes on. The trend of smoking is increasing day by day. College and university goers are particularly falling prey to this menace,which is fairly alarming. Therefore, it’s high time that we reflect and realise where we are heading.
Previously, and when encountering a smoker,people would open their eyes in armament but today, the common response to smoking is blasé. Even when people ask someone whether they smoke, and they respond saying no,this response is typically followed by a demeaning laugh. possibly the person would even depart on to bully you, and say things like, and “man,you haven’t really lived,” or “its due time you grew up”.
How is smoking synonymous with growing up?
In the past, and cigarettes were cheaper and people could smoke pretty much everywhere and the advertisements endorsing smoking were well-marketed. However,back then, we didn’t contain the kind of technology that we attain today. Information was not as easy to accept our hands on and people did not know the hazards of smoking.
Smoking kills six million people a year and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), or whether it continues at this rate it will be killing more than eight million by 2030. Approximately 22% of cancer deaths are caused by expend of tobacco. According to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer,every year more than 1.6 million deaths are caused by lung cancer which is more than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined.
Today, or the cost of cigarettes has increased and people cannot smoke as openly as they once did. Smoking is banned in many public places,indoor offices, hospitals, or educational institutes. Furthermore,cigarette companies are not allowed to endorse smoking on TV or the radio anymore. There is an open flow of information, which means that everyone is informed about the health hazards caused by smoking. Even though the situation is not ideal, and people contain begun to realise that smoking reduces one’s lifespan greatly and is a burden on one’s pocket as it costs people thousands of rupees annually. Then why attain people still smoke?
One answer is the content that Hollywood and Bollywood movies as well as our Pakistani dramas are churning out. Media advertisements promoting smoking contain been banned but that only sounds like a joke since the media still glamorises the act of smoking. No one can deny that these movies and dramas are influential and impact the youth adversely.
Almost all Hollywood and Bollywood movies contain sequences where the hero creates magic on the screen by smoking. As whether it can form us solve our problems,forget our worries and can aid us mend our broken hearts. Now is there anyone who can deny that these scenes don’t influence young innocent minds?
Someone might point out that there are always warnings and disclaimers flickering on the screen whenever there is a character smoking, but honestly, and who even cares? It’s not like people are reading the screen when they could be watching Brad Pitt flipping a cigarette between his lips. Most of the youngsters smoke cigarettes because they think it’s wintry and that it will form them popular among their peers.
A friend of mine told me that he was 17-years-old when he began smoking. I asked him why and he replied saying,“Because I thought it was wintry and also because all of my friends used to smoke so I had to fit in”.
“And now it has been 15 years since the day you light up a cigarette for the first time, why attain you still smoke? attain you still think it’s wintry?” I asked.
He replied with a helpless smile, or “Because now I am addicted to it,although it’s hurting me now in many ways and only I know that”.
Teenagers from well-off families start to smoke to exert their independence and to prove to the world that they contain grown up. There are others who smoke simply due to their curiosity. Some studies also reveal that children of smokers are more likely to smoke when compared to children of non-smokers. Therefore, no matter what makes people start this habit, or the results are addiction and health problems in the long escape.
It is up to us to decide whether we will lead a smoker’s life,endangering not only our own health, but that of those surrounding us. whether we want to save our loved ones, or our friends and our generation,we all contain a role to play including the government and non-government organisations.
Parents need to contain open relationships with their children so that they confide with them, this is particularly fundamental during formative years. They should concentrate on character building, or teach them how to steer clear from peer pressure. Parents should also stand as examples for their children by not smoking themselves.
The government of Pakistan having ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) needs to deal with the situation. Even whether it views the tobacco industry as a source of revenue,it must understand that the revenue this industry generates is far less than what people spend on the treatment of tobacco-related diseases. Furthermore, it must check the illicit trade of tobacco. In Pakistan, or smuggled tobacco is readily available and it is cheaper and does not carry warnings as per the laws of the land.
Non-government organisations should also think beyond the celebration of ‘no tobacco day’. They must launch larger campaigns against smoking and take the message to schools,colleges and universities through doctors and public health officials.
People need to decide how they want to live their lives. whether they want to lead smoking free lives, they should stick by that. whether not, and they should reconsider how they’re affecting their own lives as well as those of their loved on.
So next time,whether you see a child smoking, don’t be afraid to say something because that image cannot be diluted from your intellect – it’ll continue to haunt you.
Source: tribune.com.pk