CLAUD

Sunday, August 16, 2009

smoking

I used to be prejudiced against people who smoke. Until one day, one of my friends got the habit and then everything changed.

I used to think that only certain type of people smoke, and then in turn, those that smoke will take on that kind of attribute.

But now that my views are challenged by the fact that a friend of mine started smoking and that friend is totally NOT the above...makes me questions about smoking itself.

From the moral persuasion we see since Pri 1 about smoking, it is always bad. Besides the long term effects of smoking, and the seeming shortening of our life-span, what are the costs to smoking?

I'm talking about private costs here. Screw externalities for now.

I think there are no costs to smoking (assuming that there are no hefty taxes) and the benefits are aplenty. Reduction in stress, bonding, appetite suppressant....etc.

Say for instance that those people who smoke have lesser stress because of the feel-good drug, then if future singaporeans are going to experience more stress in life, and hence have more stress-related diseases that are most likely going to kill you in mid-age anyway, then why the heck NOT smoke?

I don't know if you see my point. Since smoking may or may not lead to an early death, while stress will most certainly lead to one, then i think i'll take my chances.

Some even claimed that certain foods and drinks taste better with nicotine.

Of course, these are all theoretical and how Claudia Wong will still not take up smoking because it's troublesome and expensive in reality. I rather spend $10.20 on make up brushes instead, though it's as useless as a cigarette.

Meanwhile, i think rejection of smokers and smoking is a sort of social stigma and the alienation of these individuals that go along with it. The best persuasion is dissuasion. If the government can somehow instill alienation to smokers, then future smokers will be detered as a person's desire to belong, rather than smoke, may be stronger how singapore is an asian society so we tend to commune blah blah.

I believe that people often quit smoking for the sake of others than for themselves. How many times you hear people saying, "i want to quit because my girlfriend doesn't like me to smoke." or "i am quitting now because my grandmother died of lung cancer and i don't want my family to go through that pain."

and the story continues. You stop smoking mostly because others want you to, or other people have influenced your perception in smoking. Few, but increasing numbers, have decided to live longer and not take chances with the cigarette (and by doing that forgo the 50-50 chance that they may not die from stress. HA HA).

If i put it that way, then the reason i'm not smoking because i want to be the 'norm' and not deviate from the rest of society. Cutting off places for smokers is actually implicitly cutting these people from the rest of society. You feel alienated and worse, you're punished for it as well. It off-sets the benefits that the cigarette brings in the first place. You're supposed to be less-stressed because of smoking, and now, it's more stressful because of how people gradually alienate, stereotype smokers which spill over as problems in your personal life. So great. You have stress AND disease. A sure way to go faster.

Obviously, these assumptions on alienation can be challenged and this is not all encompassing. However, i do believe that most parents still 'prefer' their children to not date smokers and many facebook "tags" have people stating that they prefer their partners not to smoke etc...these little things are revealing in nature.

So in short, don't smoke in singapore. Better yet, don't live in a stressful place at all. The underlying problem is stress and finding the cures for it. So if you're not stressed, you won't die from stress-related diseases and you don't need the cigarette to make you feel good about yourself.

Hello nun-hood, here I come!

14:14