‘I’ve little sympathy for those who willingly suck back on cancer sticks’

Recently, I noticed a new batch of anti-smoking advertisements on television. The campaign looks to be aimed at getting the smokers to quit lighting up by using ‘shock’ for impact. I can’t say I am terribly shocked by any of it, and all I’m really seeing is political rubbish.

These ads, just like the confronting imagery used on cigarette packets these days, are unlikley to prevent a smoker from drawing another breath on a cigarette. With all the advertising calling for smokers to quit, anyone who chooses to light up today has to be well aware of the consequences in doing so. In my opinion, it’ll take more than a 30-second commercial to get someone to stop smoking.

The strict laws we have in Australia have made smokers almost outcasts in the community. There have been bans on smoking in public places, increased taxes, and seemingly endless smoking health education, yet Australia lags behind so many other nations in getting those smoking to stop. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that cigarettes in Australia are the most expensive in the world. Surely if you were a pensioner looking for a bit of loose change in your pocket you’d consider quitting.

I find it difficult to comprehend that with all this information around them about the damage smoking can have on one’s health and one’s life, it’s not until a smoker is hit with one of the many smoking-related illnesses that they sit up and take notice. It might sound unsympathetic, but I don’t believe someone with a smoking related illness should be seen ahead of a non-smoker, especially as our public health system is struggling to cope.

This mentality of ‘you have to die of something’ frustrates me, as does the comment ‘it’s the only enjoyment I have’. Could someone please explain to me the enjoyment to be had from inhaling toxic chemicals? I’ve had someone tell me that they found giving up the cigs more difficult that any other addiction, but they didn’t seem to have that same trouble once they’d had their first heart attack. Perhaps looking into the eye of the Grim Reaper is a real wake up call for some.

Today, smoking is not an addiction, it is a choice. A poor choice at that. Help is at hand if a person really wants to make the change.

Cigarette companies don’t hold you down and shove the cigarette in your mouth. Smokers do this willingly, on their own. They inhale by choice. They put their health on the line by choice.

Smokers need to wake up. We only get one life, so don’t waste it.

Are you a smoker? Have you quit or tried to quit? What are the challenges in your opinion?

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