Tough
Love for Smokers
I
recall my first attempt at smoking. I was 15 and seeking out ways to
assert myself. I bought a stick of cigarette, went home, lit it and
inhaled the first puff. I made sure this was done in my parents'
absence. Like anyone in guilt before an act, I hid from my siblings
by climbing to the roof top. However, just as I began to smile at the
feeling of blowing out my first puff, I heard the words, “Ah Edwin,
you're smoking!”, and then I felt the shame of being caught by my
sister. Her facial expression was similar to a lady catching her
spouse in bed with another woman. My parents found out and my father
gave an ultimatum. “Leave my house or drop that habit!”. One need
not look into the eyes of an African parent to know how serious they
are when speaking. Their voice and tone says it all. Needless to say,
I quit after one day of smoking.
“1
in 5 adults are smokers”, “50% plus more than half of young
people have been exposed to second-hand smoke”, “1 in 6 deaths in
adults aged 35 and over can be adduced to smoking”. Everyone agrees
on the harmful effects of smoking including smokers. What is
responsible for this? What is that factor which makes an individual
consciously thread on a path of self-destruction? What alternatives
are available for one seeking to cope with their reasons for smoking?
What impressions do we as individuals and as a society have of a
smoker? Do we as stakeholders in the society care about the effects
of smoking? Is our faith in a healthy society strong enough to wage a
war on smoking?
Smoking
is an addiction and addictions are uncontrolled habits learnt in
order to cope with stressors. Stressors vary from anxiety to
emotional instability to peer pressure. Uncontrollable habits result
from a mechanism of positive or negative reinforcement. Smoking is a
negatively reinforced habit. Each one of us has a friend, family
member or an acquaintance who's been seduced by the euphoria of
smoking but have our efforts in awakening them to the darkness behind
the pleasure sufficient? The relationship between smoking and a
myriad of health diseases cannot be understated. What needs to be
done?
Orderliness
is the oil that facilitates a thriving society. For order to prevail,
laws are made. Laws are created to provide legitimacy and justice to
every member of the society. In a situation where an individual's
desire and quest to seek pleasure violates the safety of another, the
law steps in. Smoking should be outlawed indoors—at work and home.
Public spaces as well. Besides, secondhand smoking – the exposure
to cigarette smoke – has been proven to cause Asthma, Lung cancer
and respiratory infections. Why should an innocent child be suffer
for the pleasures of an adult? Should we out of courtesy endure the
discomfort posed by a smoker at the expense of our well-being? In a
society like ours, often times, the problem is not with legislation
but with enforcement. Authorities saddled with the responsibility of
enforcing the law carry out their job with leniency.
Furthermore,
meta-analytic studies by the United States Public Health revealed
counseling and medicines as part of the core components to
successfully quitting. Counseling is very important but the problems
lies with too few qualified counselors and the wrong group of people
proclaiming themselves as counselors. In the case of the former,
young school leavers should be tailored and encouraged with
incentives to study and educate themselves in the field of
counseling, while in the latter, qualified counselors ought to
establish a body that is delegated with the responsibility of
informing the public of qualified counselors. Often times, people
think their first point of call for counseling is their pastor or
spiritual leader. This is wrong. Smoking is not a spiritual disorder.
It is a behavioral disorder and one has to treat it through the right
means. An African Proverb says “A vulture cannot cure baldness.”
Medicines
can help in the form of nicotine gums, patches, nasal spray, inhalers
and newer medications such as Bupropion – a drug used to help with
smoking cessation. In a healthcare setting like ours where service is
next to free, government can assist in procuring medicines to aid
addicts interested in quitting, however, the cost of these
medications should be totally borne by the individuals and not
subsidized. Also, patients admitted for medical conditions associated
with smoking should bear the full cost of treatment. On the converse,
VAT rates and import duties on cigarettes should be raised to ensure
that it covers the cost for healthcare provided to smokers.
Finally,
while we continue to work on ways to improve our society and
eliminate smoking, I believe it is possible to achieve significant
results. Smokers are humans too. Humans fight to survive and survival
is what drives us to seek out means of coping with stressors. Tough
love is all we need to ensure that coping mechanisms like smoking are
kicked out.
