The Different Faces of Me

Why do people smoke? What do they get from it? Why can’t they stop? These are some of the questions that play inside my mind. I have a lot of friends who smoke and in fact, during my college days I was the only one who graduated from our block who doesn’t smoke. For me, if you really don’t want to learn how to smoke then no one can influence you. Even if your friends turn their backs on you, are they your real friends? Think again. If they really were your true friends then they won’t let you do things that you don’t want to and those that can harm you.

Most of the smokers start to smoke when they are still in their teenage years. The desire to fit in or to be one of the ‘crowds’ is particularly strong during their adolescence stage. Many teenage begin smoking because they want to be cool. If their friends smoke there’s a lot of subtle pressure to take up the habit. Young people may also feel that smoking makes them 'grown up' or it may be a form of rebellion against their parents and teachers. Most young people are already aware of the dangers of smoking so lecturing them about how they are harming their health can be futile.

Appealing advertising is also a big motivator in the desire to take up smoking. Although, most experts say that the most powerful determinants of smoking are the parents, peers and other siblings and not advertising.

Smoking is simply killing oneself little by little, day by day. I may not understand what benefits smokers from smoking but one thing’s for sure, it is not good for our health and will never do any good to us. Smoking is very unhealthy; it makes our other organs function accordingly. The lungs of these smokers don’t deliver as efficiently as those of who does not smoke.

Do you notice that some smokers (if not all, I mean NOT YET) develop an annoying cough? This is caused by the chemicals that the smokers get from smoking. Smokers mostly die in lung cancer; it also doubles the chance of heart diseases; it is also the main cause of chronic bronchitis (a serious lung infection) and emphysema (a crippling lung disease).

Can you quit? Yes, you can. Why quit tomorrow if you can do it now, right? Tomorrow never dies. If you really are determined to quit then you can. You just have to stand by your decisions and do the necessary actions. It is a must if you want the best for yourself and to those who are around you. Don’t be selfish and think ONLY of yourself. Think of those who are around you. You are harming them by smoking and through second hand smoke. As a girl who puts it, kissing a boy who smokes is like kissing a dirty ashtray. (Eeew!)



So, if you haven’t start smoking, don’t try it.Be proud that you have successfully resist the temptation.

To those who have tried this and learned how to stop, give yourself an applause. You are brave enough to overcome this addiction.

If you have already started and still wouldn't stop despite of all of these. Shame on you! You must call yourselves 'CRIMINALS' for you are not only slowly killing yourself but also the Mother Nature and of course, those people around you.