Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeSmoking senseless, unhealthy
March 19, 2007 —
We all have our little pet peeves. One of mine is smoking. I find it to be a disgusting, nasty, and unhealthy habit. I really don't like walking around campus and having to walk by smokers who are standing right outside the building getting their puffs in. I like breathing cigarette smoke-free air. I don't understand why so many people from my generation are smokers. Every time I see a person my age smoking, I am puzzled by their choice.
Over spring break I was staying at a resort in Florida that some sport teams were staying at for their spring training. One day I saw a group of baseball players walking and one of the players was smoking a cigarette. I was puzzled as to why an athlete, someone who obviously wants to be physically fit, would pick up such a disgusting habit.
Smoking is a habit that is unhealthy and can cause you to have diseases that will make you miserable and, in the end, kill you.
"Smoking kills makes you die..." is a sign that can be seen in the window of one of the freshman dorm rooms. This public service announcement speaks the truth.
I find it interesting that said sign can be seen from the area by the spirit rock, a place where smokers can be seen puffing away.
I remember walking through a "cloud" of smoke quite frequently when I use to go through the same area to get to my room in Living Center North last year.
According to theTruth.com, 36,000 people are killed by tobacco products every month. That is like the student enrollment of SVSU dying approximately 3.6 times a month.
The same website also states that 3,000 people in the U.S. die a year from secondhand smoke-related lung cancer. Not only are smokers killing themselves, they are also killing those around them.
I could go on and on with the breakdown of the number of people killed by smoking-related diseases, but I won't.
Why start something that will cause you misery later on, and even early on, in life? I would've thought that with all the information and warnings about smoking out there, people would be running in the other direction instead of lighting up.
I assume that a good majority of my generation was subjected to some sort of drug awareness education during their K-12 years.
I had Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) in fifth grade, and a basic health class during my sophomore year of high school.
Now maybe it's just my personality, but the scenarios I read in my D.A.R.E. handbook really made me not want to go anywhere near a cigarette or any other type of drug. I know that a good number of people probably look back and find the D.A.R.E. program to be kind of silly, but what is taught is real.
Some may argue that smoking is a way for them to "relieve stress." All I have to say to that is everyone has stress and there are other ways to relieve it. Find a less harmful way to relieve stress. Taking up yoga, taking a relaxing bath, and even chewing gum are some healthier choices.
Personally, my schoolwork and various school activities cause me stress at times. I deal by sitting down and watching TV or a movie to help take my mind off my stress for a while.
Smoking is unhealthy, is pointless, and it kills. If you smoke, you should quit.