This week the ecoTrain members have to give their two cents on the question in the title of this post so here’s my two cents on the topic. Well, if you know me, you know I don’t do short posts so please bear with me once again ;)
There are scores of mass produced products that I wish weren’t produced in the first place and those that I would want to remove from the world. There is a lot that can be done to make the environment greener and the world a safer and nicer place to live in but the one thing that I despise the most currently and one that has been affecting my life in many ways is ‘cigarettes.’
If it were in my control, I would instantly burn all the cigarette producing factors in the world and would replace them with more gardens, parks and factories that recycle goods. This way the people who have jobs and can earn a living because of the cigarette factories will still have work to do and will be able to earn money, and there would be far less smoke and poison in the world.
About 1/3rd of the total male population in the world smokes cigarettes and about 1 in 10 people die from health conditions induced and brought about by smoking. It is assumed that by 2030, 1 in every 6 people will die courtesy of smoking. These statistics honestly make me lose my sanity. I have suffered a lot due to cigarettes and I don’t wish to suffer anymore.
My father is a chain smoker. Throughout my childhood, I saw him smoke and his smoke not only infected his lungs and entire system but also slowly poisoned us. Not only did he have health problems but he suffered from constant mood swings because of this bad habit too. Also, the company that he spent most of his time in smoked as well and from cigarettes, he soon moved to other drugs and alcohol. I have nothing against any of these things personally. I am alright with them being consumed occasionally because if you don’t smoke or drink too often, you won’t allow these things to control your mind and consequently your life. However, it is their abuse that disrupts and sabotages your life and this is precisely what I am against.
My father became addicted to cigarettes and alcohol and because of his addictions, he made many illogical and unhealthy decisions that did not just affect him but influenced our lives as well. A lot happened with him and my mother and I won’t say cigarettes or alcohol are the only two things to be blamed for that because I firmly believe that if something goes wrong between two or more people, they are fully responsible for that but I also believe that his addictions negatively influenced him to a great extent.
My mother and father parted ways and for a long time, I was away from the direct influence of cigarettes until I met my now husband. I fell in love with a guy who was a chain smoker and I found myself in a rough spot again. I didn’t know whether to choose love or my desire to breathe in air free of cigarette smoke. I surrendered to love and chose to be with him. For quite some time, I encouraged and even pushed him not to smoke and he even did stop smoking for about 40 days in a row but one fine day, he was back with his bad habit and I found myself banging my head on the wall again.
However, that experience made me realize that I could never push anyone to do something I wanted so I stopped forcing my husband to quit smoking. I found myself asking him once again to quit his bad habit when I conceived. I didn’t want to breathe in that polluted air and didn’t want to raise my child in an unhealthy environment too.
My son is now 4 and sadly, my husband still smokes. However, he does not smoke in front of us. I have taught my son to say ‘Cigarette will make you die’ whenever he sees his father with a smoke in his hand and luckily, this has yielded some good results. I have seen lots of people succumb to cancer and health conditions related to lungs because of smoking and I don’t wish my husband and us to go through the same. He has turned us into passive smokers which is slow poisoning us and I want it to change for the better.
My husband too has suffered a lot from his bad habit. He has poor stamina, suffers from breathing issues and his heart has now begin to weaken as well. All of this makes me wish for a world cleansed of cigarettes so if it were in my power, I would just eliminate cigarettes from this world.
Do share your views on the topic in the comments below. Thank you for going through this.
Love,
Sharoon.
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