Don’t hold your breath

THERE ARE a number of beneficial laws that work quite well in other countries — such as legal abortion, decriminalised marijuana, or age requirements to purchase alcohol — but I have to wonder what would happen if Parliament woke up tomorrow and passed a law that made smoking in enclosed public places, such as bars, restaurants and clubs, illegal? Would it ever be enforced? Would the people revolt? All over the world, countries are enforcing more restrictions, higher age requirements, health warnings and higher prices on cigarettes in an effort to curb the health risks not only to smokers, but also those exposed to second-hand smoke. One such restriction is a law that prohibits smoking in enclosed establishments. Many countries have struggled to enforce the new law and have been met with strong opposition from smokers who do not appreciate being told to go outside like a bad dog.

New York City is one such place where the ban is working quite well. During my recent vacation there, on my first night we headed out to meet some people at a bar. My friend wanted to stop for cigarettes, but it took us five stores before we actually found one that sold them. When she finally did buy a pack of Marlboro’s — and you don’t want to know how much it cost — she then informed me we had to stand up on the corner outside the bar while she took her smoke. I thought that it was quite amazing that smoking, the thing that was always very in was now very out… outside that is! I can’t stress to you what a huge difference it was going to smoke-free bars. No more smoke in your face, burning your eyes and making you cough. No more of that sickening scent soaking into your skin and your clothes. No more of those nice little circular burns from careless smokers gesticulating with a lit cigarette. No more going home and taking a shower before you go to bed so your bed doesn’t reek as bad as you do. No more washing your hair twice to get the stench out. You walk out of that bar smelling almost as good as when you went in!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am no Mother Theresa and I am certainly not the morality police, but I do dislike smoking and simply wish smokers would be a little more considerate. But I can’t stop you — if you want to smoke, go right ahead. Smoke two at a time if it makes you happy. Chain smoke ten packs a day for all I care. The only thing I have a problem with is when it is done in enclosed public places, like malls, cinemas, offices, airports and restaurants, with little thought for the non-smokers and little kids who will be forced to inhale recycled second-hand smoke. Smokers get accustomed to the act of smoking and grow to like it, but I’ve never found cigarettes to taste good in the first place. In fact, I don’t know a single person who has tried a cigarette for the first time and said, “Mmm, this is really delicious!” Hell no! Everyone takes that first pull and their face contorts and turns red, and they cough and hack and their voice goes hoarse, and then they smoke some more until they force their body to get used to it. But you want so hard to look cool that you keep smoking, and then the more you smoke the more addicted you get to the nicotine and to the oral habit, and before you know it you can’t stop. 

I first attempted smoking many years ago when I was in secondary school and going through the rebellious/experimentation phase, but I never got addicted like most of my friends. I must have been in form four or so, and smoking was the thing to do at that age – smoking cigarettes behind the school or in the park, sneaking a smoke when your parents weren’t around, bumming cigarettes from each other, girls asking the boys they liked for a smoke, boys whipping out their Zippo to happily oblige... Oh yes, it certainly makes one feel very grown up, doesn’t it! Slowly but surely, smoking is not being seen as cool anymore. Not only is it being prohibited in certain places, but now many cigarette manufacturers are mandated by law to put strong warnings and graphic pictures on cigarette packs, reminding smokers that cigarettes cause cancer of the lungs, mouth and throat, impotence, liver damage and foetal deformations. One of the international health goals is to reduce the number of preventable deaths due to smoking, and to protect those who choose not to smoke.

But what is a non-smoker to do? I have two choices — I can either put up with it and quit complaining, or I can decide to withhold my business from establishments that allow smoking. I will admit I personally would like it if smoking indoors was banned, but considering that every bar and club in Trinidad is a smoker’s paradise, and I don’t relish the idea of becoming a hermit, I won’t hold my breath until that day comes. The question of rights then arises. Cigarettes are a legally controlled substance; therefore shouldn’t smokers be allowed to enjoy them without being lectured to or being told to go outside? But on the other hand, knowing the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke, shouldn’t those who choose not to smoke have the right to breathe easy and safely in enclosed public places? Or is there a happy medium between the right to smoke and the right to clean air?

It is possible that someday soon, in the same way that they eventually recognised that designating the last six rows in an airplane as the “smoking section” was a bad idea and a health risk to others, indoor smoking may eventually be banned in some places. Smokers will argue that if you don’t like the smoke, then just get out of the bar. But in my humble opinion, I beg to differ. Considering cigarette smoke is classified as a Class ‘A’ Carcinogen, ranking alongside asbestos and arsenic, and generally just a stinky and smelly habit that makes others stinky and smelly, if non-smokers don’t like the smoke, perhaps YOU should get out of the bar. Go outside, smoke your cancer stick and come back inside when you’re done. Would that be so hard? Smoke if you like… but just keep your smoke to yourself! Angry smokers can feel free to send their hate mail to emilymdickson@yahoo.com