One nail in the coffin with each cigarette smoked

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NOT long ago, the Health Ministry came up with the proposal to ban smoking at public eateries nationwide.

Open spaces without air conditioning such as coffee shops, mamaks and food courts will all be gazetted as no-smoking zones. This measure, undoubtedly, is good news for non-smokers.

According to data released by the Health Ministry, an average of 100,000 Malaysians die every year due to smoking-related diseases such as pneumonia and lung cancer.

And the World Health Organisation says a person will lose an average of seven minutes of life for each cigarette smoked while long-term smoking will shorten one’s life by five to eight years.

It is scary how smoking can cause great harm to the body.To encourage people to quit smoking, the government has taken a few measures such as giving pictorial warnings on cigarette packaging and also hiking the price of cigarettes. But despite this, smokers still carry on puffing and generally, most people seem not to be affected.

Smoking is addictive like drugs. It is hard for smokers to quit overnight. It all comes down to the determination and will to quit.

You can, of course, cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke. But the plain truth is you are still smoking even if it is just one stick a day! It looks like cold turkey, or bust!

Undeniably, second-hand smoke is everywhere.The ‘forced to smoke’ phenomenon is most commonly seen in food courts.

If you sit next to a table of smokers, well, you will just have to deal with it – food plus cigarette smoke.

When met with a situation like this, no matter how delicious the meal, you just want to finish it as fast as possible.

Non-smokers definitely do not have the power to stop smokers from smoking and this is certainly a bother.

As non-smokers, we might not be really smoking but are inhaling second-hand smoke which is no less harmful to health.

At the same time, what worries us the most is that the main victims of passive smoking are children. They have weaker immune systems and are thus, more susceptible to asthma or bronchitis.

There will be those who support and those who oppose the Health Ministry’s ‘ban smoking’ proposal.

When the ministry made its announcement, the catering industry objected, fearing that their business would be affected.

Obviously, the industry are worried that the measure will lead to smokers no longer supporting their businesses but what they have ignored is the existence of non-smoking diners.

There are two sides to any issue. If the measure is really implemented, it could also result in bigger business volume for restaurants and coffeeshops as more non-smokers such as pregnant women and parents with children would support them.

The government should implement the proposal gradually – first with a trial period to allow industries and smokers to adapt.

If a complete ban is hastily enforced, it would likely have a negative effect. Therefore, to get the best of both worlds – ensuring the comfort of non-smokers and at the same time, not depriving smokers of their need – public eateries could emulate those air-conditioned restaurants by allocating smoking and non-smoking areas.

This way, the business will not be impacted while non-smokers can also dine in a smoke-free ambiance.

So, is the proposal to ban smoking at eateries practical?

To effectively implement this measure, cooperation between the eateries and the public is needed.

Of course, we also hope the government and catering industry could adopt a

win-win approach. Most importantly, the government must improve enforcement. Action speaks louder than

words.

(From Oriental Daily).