Re: Smoke and Mirrors
Monday, August 16 2010
Dear Farrago
Despite the partial truths of Siobhan Argents piece “Smokers Mirrors”, I felt that it was another article about smoking aimed at branding the “collective aims and attitudes” of smokers and to push further why smoking is for the weak/non-sensible. For fear of sounding pro-smoking, I firstly feel the need to clarify that smoking is harmful to one’s health. Like many other things.
People seem to have forgotten that smoking is part of one’s freedom of choice. Cigarettes are not illegal.
I know many people who have taken up smoking for reasons other than apathy to risk taking. In many societies, outside our own, smoking is something you do and the risk is just an accepted part of it. We drive or ride a bike with the risk we may die in an accident – we smoke with the same risk too. People who travel overseas and experience this attitude may commence smoking as they see it as one of life’s guilty pleasures. Others, like a close friend of mine may take health risks on face value. She doesn’t drink to excess or take drugs like her peers. She is not an overeater and she doesn’t speed or fail to obey traffic lights. She doesn’t drink cough syrup – even when she’s sick. She smokes, and this is her one act of risk taking for her own enjoyment.
While smoking can easily be described as an unhealthy, dirty habit, please do not brand the mind-sets of all who smoke. We are individuals with our own views. Like overweight people or gay people or anyone else who society likes to stereotype.
Sincerely
Sonia Khan