Smoke Gets in My...Lungs

I have to thank a young man I met this morning for giving me something to write.

I was halfway through my jog in the park this morning when I began to smell smoke from a cigarette. As I got closer to two young men in sports attire strolling ahead of me in the park, I realised one of them was the culprit. I’ve bumped into them several times before and everytime, one of them would be smoking. So this morning, while I was huffing and puffing past them...I turned around jogging backwards and asked the guy holding the cigarette politely, “Can you try not to smoke here?” He stared at me with the most unfriendly face, obviously unhappy with what I said. I then added “We’re trying to get some fresh air here.” Guess what was his reply? “I like what! ...Go elsewhere lah!”......sigh!...what can I say...I just turned around and carried on with my jog.

I find that smoking has become a very serious problem in Singapore. Too many young people are addicted to this cancer-causing habit and the numbers are still on the increase. Every morning during my short walk to the MRT, I’ll get smoke blown into my face all the time. There'll be a smoker in front of me, beside me, behind me... everywhere you’ll see smokers, especially right outside the MRT station.

When the government decided to go stricter with smoking rules this year, I was quietly applauding it. Smoking is now banned at bus-stops and will not be allowed freely at open-air or al fresco dining places from the middle of this year. All F & B outlets would need to separate smoking from non-smoking areas in some kind of proportion. Isn’t that great news for non-smokers?

Frankly, I’m not suggesting that no one should smoke at all. If you have the money and enjoy inhaling all that smoke, go right ahead and coat your lungs and throat with as much nicotine and tar as you like, no problem with me. Just don’t make non-smokers like me breathe in the cancerous smoke you emit. I don’t want it to get into my lungs because I need them for my jogging.

Do you think I should write in to the National Parks Board to propose banning smoking in parks? I’m sure the plants and trees will thank me for doing that.