A forum letter printed in today's TODAY (27 July, 2007) reminded me of several recent incidents I witnessed - parents/grandparents smoking in the presence of young children.
Would like invite some comments about telling these adults not to expose the kids to the smoke.
On the one hand, they can insist it is their own business. At the same time, (always trying to play devil's advocate), I can also imagine them pointing out they grew up around adults who smoked (as I did in my younger years) and they are not in any crisis.
On the other hand, I pity the poor kids. Even if they don't take heed today, it is still a reminder. Being confrontational is not likely to be fruitful, so yeah, I got to adopt a humble tone. (Which in an extreme case, got a guy in London shot, Boxing champ shot in face for asking men to stub out)
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/202542.asp
Letter from Abdul Shariff Aboo Kassim
Recently, I saw a toddler playing beside his parents. His father was smoking, and the cigarette accidentally burnt the child's cheek, barely missing his left eye.
Shocking as that was, even worse is the sustained damage being caused to the child's lungs and heart.
This is not the first time I have witnessed parents smoking next to their children. I have seen some parents carry their children in one hand, holding a cigarette with the other.
The dangers of second-hand smoke are well documented. It is scientifically correlated with a range of illnesses from asthma to cancer to heart disease. Second-hand smoke is reported to be even more damaging to children because their lungs and immune systems are still developing.
Aside from the medical perspective, parents should also consider the financial implications of their smoking habit. They often miscalculate the actual cost of smoking. It does not just involve the amount spent on cigarettes but also increased medical expenses for themselves and their children, who inhale second-hand smoke. Taxes on tobacco products and the cost of medical care are continuing to rise.
Moreover, parents who smoke are like walking advertisements to their children. If their children do pick up the habit, it will probably be at a young age when they are still dependent on the parents.
There is also the opportunity cost of smoking to consider.
For the average family, the costs of smoking have a substantial impact on their savings. This could mean, among other things, losing the chance to invest more money in their children's education and thus curtailing their prospects.
I can empathise with smokers, having quit the habit eight years ago. Quitting is a challenge but many have succeeded in doing so.
An interim measure that parents can undertake is to isolate themselves from their loved ones if they have to smoke. They should quit so as to protect their children's health and help save money in the process as well.
For me its a case of, I would like to, but I know I shouldn't for various reasons. Its a no-win situation especially with many Singaporeans. The more you ask them not to do it, they more they insist on doing it. I could tell you about dengue breakout in Bukit Panjang but will leave that for another time. Nothing short of harsh and draconian measures will get them to change and the question is do we want to go in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThe root cause is tobacco consumption. Tackling this will yield better results.
The smoking bans in many places, including bus-stops, can be considered as draconian.
ReplyDeleteWhile each person is responsible for his own health, I'm not certain he is at liberty to expose the kids he is with to 2nd-hand smoke.
On the pretext of preventing underage gambling, adults aren't even allowed to go into Singapore Pools premises to TOTO/4D when they have kids in tow.
And having a camera-phone now makes me itch to snap shots of them ...
This is yet another issue of parental responsibility vs. social responsibility. As parents, they as the legal guardians of the child, have the right to do as they please... but within the bounds of social acceptability.
ReplyDeleteQuestion is, where is this line?
Is feeding 2nd hand smoke to a child acceptable by society's standards? One the one hand, as legal guardians, they do have certain leeway to do as they please... but on the other hand, besides having more fingers, we do have a social responsibility to protect our young... even from their own parents.
And I tell you, it gets murkier when I see pregnant women accompanied by smoking husbands, or worse, the preggies themselves were smoking ...
ReplyDeleteSuch ban of smoking in public places already done in places outside Singapore, many of them considered more liberal than Singapore.
ReplyDeleteThe issues comes in that you are specifically making it illegal someone not to smoke with their kids around. If they are willing to smoke in public with their kids in tow, most likely they are smoking at home with their kids in an even closer environment. The problem will not be solved in this manner except create more social tensions.
For some I'm aware of, these adults were smoking outside with kids in tow 'cos they weren't allowed to smoke at home ...
ReplyDeleteWhich reminded me a couple of months back when I railed at a man who came out from the lift with a litted cigarette ... he claimed he just carried it but not smoked it in the lift ... wait, didn't I mention this before? ...
It does sound familiar...
ReplyDelete