It has been a long and tough day for Eric, running errands
and doing paper works for his daytime job. At last when the night came, he can
finally unwind in a quiet place as he escapes the mental stress of today’s
tasks. He fetches a pack of cigarette from his pocket and lit a stick. It is
clenched tight between his teeth; its other end glowing against the darkness
outside. He closes his eyes as he savor the warmth filling inside his nose and
mouth, and after a while, blows out one long trail of smoke.
This has always been
his guilty pleasure. As much as he understands the health consequences of smoking,
but one cannot simply turn away from the temptation according to him.
It could be a relaxing night for Eric, but truth been told,
not for everybody around him. Tonight, he is not alone. He is lounging outside
a café, with lit cigarette in one hand as people walk past his seat. Without
him knowing, he has exposed others to all health risks he may be experiencing.
The toxic chemicals being exhaled are the same kind of chemicals the people
around him inhale. Unfortunately, everybody else is walking slowly with him as
he marched to his death bed.
They are inhaling secondhand smoke. And they could be
us.
It is still hard to believe that a third party who happened to be standing near a smoking person can inhale more toxic than the person using the cigarette. And in some countries where smoking in public isn't banned, it's just really bad for them.
ReplyDeleteThere are reasons that cafés generally add seats outside. One of it is to attract smokers to sit back and relax. This is a marketing strategy. But these people who walk past him, may just inhale smoke once since reflex and quick judgment tells us to quickly exhale any SHS and inhale back a few feet away from the smoker. In a smoker's point of view, since no rules are being implemented, I have the right to take a cigarette or two. :)
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ReplyDeleteIt's time to take an action, an action that will help the smokers realize what are the harmful effects of smoking. But before that they can realize, laws that are implemented but are not given such attention should be given a GREAT attention. Because smoking can kill the smokers and can also kill the passive smokers. "Life is a gift, a gift that we must treasure forever."
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