Norway has done it. Scotland has done it. New Yorkers were a bit reluctant but finally managed to get it done.
I'm talking about the ban on smoking in public places. And Singapore's next - that's a good thing. I don't want anymore young people getting hooked on the habit.
It's a common sight these days to see teenagers fish cigarettes out of their pockets, sometimes surreptitiously. Despite hard evidence that smoking harms our health, smoking's perceived "cool" image still manages to ensnare an increasing number of youths. Ironically, one of my female friends actually told me that smoking helps maintain her slim figure due to the nicotine's ability to nullify her taste buds, thereby reducing her appetite !
Talk about smoke getting into her eyes.
Apparently, shocking imagery depicted on cigarette packs don't seem to do the trick of discouraging more people from lighting up. A call to ban cigarettes entirely, or to levy a higher tax rate on cigarette imports ?
No. The demand for cigarettes is inelastic and smokers will still pay to get their nicotine fix regardless of price. In any case, there are always less-expensive brands to choose from.
What needs to be done is to raise the "social cost" of smoking cigarettes - the disgusted looks on non-smoking friends may just be enough to make the smoker think twice before reaching for another stick. Thus the impetus lies on our youth to change prevailing attitudes towards smoking. The existing outreach programmes have catchy slogans like " Each puff is a handcuff" but efforts can certainly be stepped up, maybe even reviving old campaigns like asking volunteers along Orchard Road to hand out apples to cigarette smokers.
Ultimately, though, we are well-informed civilians and have to respect the personal decisions of our fellow Singaporeans who smoke. Smoking will be around with us for a long time to come and, before it gets snubbed out completely, may just be something we all have to live with yet.
Article comments
1 - Sean
I think it was Mayor bloomberg who pushed through the smoking ban. I don't think Rudy G had anything to do with it.
2 - Druxxx
No one can truely defend smoking, but an all out ban. I don't think so. One of the last things this country needs is a war on tabacco.
Ban smoking in all indoor public places, fine. Prohibition is wrong.
3 - Bob A. Booey
Yeah, I was gonna say, Rudy's been gone for a while now, hoss.
Most bars and nightclubs worry that this kind of ban (which was also proposed here in Chicago) would put them under, but I personally wouldn't mind it. While it's nice knowing which chicks are orally fixated and constitutionally weak, I might enjoy not smelling like smoke when I come home on the weekends.
That is all.
4 - RJ
Smoking and drinking alcohol mix well. So, IMO, bars and nightclubs should still be allowed to permit their customers to smoke inside.
But in every other place of business (especially restaurants!), it should be prohibited indoors.