Archive for January 11th, 2009

I grew up in a family of smokers. Most if not all the males in my family smoke. The females on the other hand, are non smokers - I will explain a bit later why. Smoking, despite all the disadvantages it gives to the smoker and second hand smokers ( and now third hand smokers) - expensive, wasteful, unhealthy - is a popular activity all over the world. Reading about those people who still smoke despite all the campaigns against it, I really cannot comprehend why people still want to smoke.

Many heavy smokers started off at a very early age. Most when they were in their early teenage years. This I can see even with my father and my brothers. The all started since they were between 14-16 years old.

Why did they start at such an early age? Due to peer pressures, the influence of movies, and - in my opinion the ultimate reason-  smoking considered as normal.

Smoking when considered as normal is embraced easily. This, I feel can be seen both here in Hungary and Malaysia. As I said earlier, I grew up in a family of smokers. I was a second hand smoker nearly all my life. My brothers succumbed to the habit yet my sisters and I did not. None, with an exception of one or two of my female friends smoke. The culture in Malaysia does not condone the fact that a woman smokes. It’s taboo.  Compared to the Hungarian counterparts, out of 10 women I see on the streets of Budapest, I would be able to see perhaps 7 of them holding cigarettes. Even my mother in law is an ex-smoker. Due to the gender equality which Hungarian women enjoy more, the culture does not see the need to bestow an invisible rule that women should not smoke, thus making smoking as a normal thing for both women and men. So what I am saying is, if not for the culture difference, due to the ‘normalcy’ of smoking; my sisters, myself , along with other females in Malaysia who live in  a ’smoking environment’,  would have a higher chance of being smokers ourselves.

Ireland was the first country in the world to enforce nationwide ban of smoking in workplaces in 2004. Even after a year of the implementation of the ban, they saw a tremendous effect. 80% Irish ex-smokers confessed that the Law helped them to quit, and 88% claimed that it help them to be ’smoke-free’.

When people smoke less, children will be  much more protected from having the idea that smoking is something normal.  Perhaps the chance for our younger generation to touch a cigarettes at such an early age would be lessen.

Message to smokers: