World No Tobacco Day - May 31

 World No Tobacco Day 

 We have come along way baby....  

Smoking is no longer glamourous or a pass-time of the rich and famous.  It is no longer condoned in restaurants and public places.  And most people understand the link to major health issues.   

Though it has lost its 'public' appeal, it is still a major issue and addiction within our families and workplaces. Smoking cessation is the focus of many workplace wellness programs because tobacco addiction has an negative impact on absenteeism, productivity and benefits usage.  It is costing us at a government, corporate and a personal level.  

Wouldn't it be great, if we could prevent the up and coming generations from having to face the 'futility' of quitting, of being a 'slave' to their addiction, or experiencing the devastating impact of their 'habit'.  

My hope for my sons is that they are never tempted to 'try' it, feel insecure enough to use it to help them in social situations, or heaven forbid, think that it will make them 'cooler'. 

As a parent, I loved when they were younger and we would walk into the arena, past the smokers, and they would blurt out something along the lines of how gross it was, how it smelled bad or did they know that cigarettes were killing them.  I love hearing them talk about how they want to be healthy and that good 'atheletes' don't smoke.  And I know that the messages from their schools, their coaches and their parents are getting through, when they express their concern for family members and how they hope that they don't develop cancer because they are still smoking.

Hopefully, they will never start smoking, because once started, it can be excruciatingly hard to stop.  Some people wrongly believe that if we continue to raise the price, add more tax or put more disgusting pictures on the packages, that people will stop smoking and choose to live a healthier life. 

But tobacco is addictive, and being addicted to something, means that logic is skewed and the addiction can always be justified or at least continued to exist.  "A tobacco addiction really isn't that harmful anyway, right? It's not like it is a 'street drug'.  It really doesn't hurt anyone else other than the person using it.  Right?"  Those that don't smoke, know that the answer to these questions is a resounding "Wrong".

So, if we know that it is harmful, why don't we, as a society, just say no to tobacco altogether? 

Unfortunately, smokers bring in millions of dollars to the government through taxes and the smoking industry provides jobs and more money to those that produce and sell tobacco and cigarettes.  We are as dependent on the income generated as the smokers are on the tobacco that they use.

So, I go back to my original statement...we have come a long way...but the key to our success is to continue to convince the younger generation that it isn't worth it.  If they don't start, then eventually the industry will die away, like unfortunately, those from the older generations who smoked their lives away.

Today is World No Tobacco Day.  That is the hope of our future.  Today, we start with the young ones in front of us.  We shape their minds and we teach them healthy strategies to cope with the world around them.




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