I am not pleased.

Yesterday, while I was on my way back home from school (the journey of approximately 400m), I had to overtake a guy who was smoking. It just annoyed the hell out of me because he didn't let me walk infront of him, nooo, he didn't. Instead, he made me walk behind him so that I could inhale all the beautiful smoke he was exhaling. Maybe he knew I was an asthmatic, he wanted to trigger an asthma attack? I wanted to pinch my nose like an ugly Singaporean to give him a clue, but decided against it, not wanting to find trouble with such a menace in society. Disgustingly horrendous torture, I was so mighty pissed.
Yes, smoking. I know I've blogged about my strong dislike for smoking before, but some things just have to be reiterated. Many have asked me why I have such extreme anti-smoking sentiments, well let me explain myself.

I have always been firmly against the notion of smoking. Smokers do not form a good impression in my mind and most well-functioning minds, I have to be very frank, and it's extremely justifiable why. I do not like germs and smoke from some dumbass cigarette smacking my face and trying to make their way into my lungs. The STENCH of cigarettes is horrible, no one would like secondhand smoke all over his/her face. I can't imagine how much damage you do to yourself with each stick you smoke.

It sucks to see people smoking as though their lives depend on it, especially in Singapore where our weather's freaking 30 degrees/100% humidity every single day, every single month, every single year. There is no sound excuse to smoke in such a country, unless you remotely dare consider the lame excuses I'll mention later. When I went to Europe last/this year, everyone on the streets was smoking, even teenagers and women. Though unpleasant to think of, it was still acceptable or at the very least, justifiable. When it's -12 degrees cold and you are shivering, maybe smoking may keep you the slightest bit warm? I'm not totally sure about that but it makes sense. Not enough sense, however, to continue blackening your poor lungs like the addicts that roam our streets do.

One big issue with smokers in Singapore is how inconsiderate they are. I'm sure all of you would have experienced uninvited smoke in your face. I swear, sometimes it feels like the sadistic smokers are doing it on purpose, trying to aim their secondhand smoke down your trachea and cause as much damage as possible. "If our lungs end up looking like charcoal, maybe we can make sure others suffer as well."
The very fact that they smoke shows that they don'tcare about themselves, they don't care about their families, so it's highly likely that they won't care about you and your welfare. After all, you're just a random stranger who became a newly recruited passive smoker by force. You may accuse me of making sweeping statements.

Whaaaaat, Parveen, are you sure they don't care about themselves? With every stick they smoke, they're practically booking their coffins, digging their own graves. If it isn't obvious enough, it takes an extremely desensitized individual to continue smoking despite the gruesome photos and images found on your average Marlboro packets. I mean, it's a clear warning, that's what you're going to become, if you haven't transformed your poor unwilling body to that state yet. We've all been taught about smoking and cancer and TB and all the other ills associated from young. But many smokers choose to ignore even the smallest harms that tarnish their image. The bad breath, the body odour, the poor dental hygiene, not all are under their control. Smokers are never appealing in the eye of the public, and it's amusing how much they pay to continue keeping this image. Maybe it's because they don't know how they look like to us, their vision is blurred by the thick clouds of smoke. Boy am I glad my mum made my daddy stop smoking before I was born, I would never want smoker lips to kiss me. It would feel like an insult.

Okay, so maybe they don't care about themselves, but surely they care about others! That's what they'd like to think. They think that minimising the amount of secondhand smoke their loved ones have to tolerate is enough, but the emotional burden is intangibly heavy. They always have this slight hope that one day, you'll come to your senses and quit. Instead, what happens is that they suffer silently from the effects of secondhand smoke, they suffer when they see your addiction worsen.

After all that, you may probably think I'm against all smokers and I think they're the reason for all the problems in this world. Not true at all. These smokers just can't follow one basic principle,

"Be your own boss."

The harsh reality is that they have limited control of their actions. Now, they are slaves of nicotine. Yes, slaves of a non-living, inanimate chemical. You usually hear smokers telling others that it's "in their control" and that they can "stop whenever they feel like it". My friends, that is nicotine speaking. The truth is, they would've tried many times, to gain control back in their lives, but they crumble and their efforts become futile. So now that they're stuck in this cruel spell of nicotine's, why not make sure others are in it with them, right? That's when peer pressure gets formulated and smoking suddenly becomes "cool". Smoking never was "cool", it's an enticement act, we non-smokers would never find out anyway. It's wrong, it's cruel, it's immoral to introduce such a nasty habit to someone you call your friend. I wish more people would understand that.

In conclusion, I would just like to mention that this is not a hate-post for smokers. It's a reality check, I'm hoping at least one person will read a non-smoker's perspective and quit for good. Smokers can be amazing individuals handicapped by their habit, it doesn't make them a bad person. Maybe a more stinky one with lungs that look like decomposed cotton candy, but not a 'bad' person. I can't wait for a smoke-free Singapore, a smoke-free world, when finally everyone's released from the shackles of nicotine.
But till then, I'll just have to keep overtaking these smokers and hope my lungs do not turn into smoked salmon.

With Love,