 "Photo: LIQUID LIBRARY")
A comment by an anonymous user on a random Web site got me thinking the other day. The site was showcasing some impressive anti-smoking ads submitted by various graphic designers around the world. The comment claimed that smokers are becoming the recipient of unfair and undeserved treatment for their personal choice.
As one that tends to side with the importance of personal choice, I was struck by this idea. Are smokers becoming a pariah caste? Are they the lepers of society intentionally being looked down upon? Do they deserve to be condemned for a disgusting habit?
As reported by the American Heart Association, about 47 million people in America 18 and above smoke cigarettes.
Considering the effects of cigarettes, that can be seen as a surprisingly high number. Yet smokers are still a minority in this country.
In a country of about 300 million people, as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau, 47 million is a large minority. So does this minority deserve to be verbally abused and criticized?
It is without question to say that individuals who smoke cigarettes are harming their bodies. As is reported by the American Heart Association, smoking cigarettes increases your chance of heart disease, strokes and cancer, among other things. It has also been reported that about 400,000 people die each year from smoking-related diseases, that equals out to about one person every 72 seconds. Is this cause for concern and empathy or simply natural selection at its finest? I would sheepishly argue the latter.
In my eyes, there is no point in smoking. Tobacco smoking lacks the "high" received from many drugs and lacks any true purpose at all.
It is expensive and addictive. I can understand why those who already smoke keep smoking (I've heard that nicotine stuff is pretty addicting), but I fail to understand why it begins in the first place.
"Hey kid! Wanna try to suck this stick full of tar that tastes awful and smells even worse? You'll probably get addicted and throw your health out the window, not to mention your money!" This isn't a world obsessed with James Dean anymore. Don't tell me it's "cool" or "hip" because smoking has become the recipient of an aggressive American culture hell-bent on health and fitness.
I don't mean to write of my distaste of smoking habits, for I highly doubt anyone really cares. I aim to show, however, that while my opinion is strong and bitter, it should not affect how I treat those who smoke. It is their choice to kill themselves faster than me, and who am I to tell them they can't? It would be highly hypocritical to be a supporter of euthanasia and condemn those who smoke. There is an important distinction, however, that opposes this "hands-off" approach.
Smokers don't just kill themselves. They kill others. As noted by the American Cancer Institute, about one-half of the smoke is inhaled and exhaled through a cigarette, and the other one-half, called sidestream smoke, floats around in the air. The combination of these two make up what is known as environmental tobacco smoke, which is proven to have more than 200 poisonous chemicals, 60 of which are carcinogens. This is when it's OK to pick on smokers.
No one deserves to be bullied for their own personal choices, assuming they don't affect anyone around them. If secondhand smoke didn't exist, smokers would deserve to be treated the same as every other group that makes a distinct personal choice, such as those with tattoos, the obese or a religious group.
But it does exist. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported about 3,000 people a year die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke – 3,000 people. And I contemplated laying off smokers? Just because they aren't stabbing someone doesn't make their crime less offensive. Holding a cigarette near another human is subjecting them to unneeded consequences. While it may be in very small doses, that smoking stick of tobacco is slowly killing everyone around it.
I maintain that smoking is a personal choice, albeit questionable, and deserves its own merit. This choice should be protected from unjust criticism and verbal abuse so long as it doesn't affect others. So long as people smoke in my presence, I think some verbal criticism is plenty fair. Consider it compensation for the few days you took from my life.
