Smoke-free ride is everyone's right

Last Wednesday the relevant authorities did the necessary to stop people from smoking in Public Transport. Occasional operations, however, are just not sufficient. We have to do it continually and consistently. Encouragingly, participation of NGOs and private entities on anti-smoking campaigns seem to have ramped up so the education part is fairly taken cared of.

It is now time to put the stick to work. More agencies (government or otherwise) need to take cue of what the two did. Kudos!

RTD personnel inspecting a public bus. Photo: J.Goh/Daily Express

Better late than never

This is a small piece of good news to non-smokers. Commuters on public transportation in the State Capital can soon enjoy a smoke-free ride, thanks to a joint operation conducted by the Road Transport Department and the Kota Kinabalu Health Office in Kota Kinabalu, recently.

The two-and-a-half-hour operations, which started at 9.00am and called "Ops Anti-smoking in Public Transport (Bus/Taxi)", was conducted by a total of 6 teams comprising 20 officers at Taman Awam in Likas Bay.


Operations aside, Taman Awam in Likas Bay is a great place for recreation and picnic.
Photo: de engineur


The objectives of the joint operation were to enforce control of the Regulation 2004 (CTR 2004) which states that:-

• Regulation 12.1(a) - Signage should be displayed in Public Transport.
• Regulation 12.1(a) - Signage should be displayed in Public Transport

Pamphlets and stickers were also distributed to public transport vehicles to create awareness regarding CTR 2004. A total of 48 public transport vehicles we checked and a total of 6 notices were issued to public transport operators for failures to display signages.

Average smoker spends RM178.80 on fags monthly

I mentioned previously that when you smoke, you inhale up to 4,000 chemicals. Bernama reported that an average smoker in the country spends RM178.80 on cigarettes per month.

Daily Express, 13-6-2012

So, this is what GATS - Global Adult Tobacco Survey - says. It could be RM150 or RM500 monthly for some.


The survey

The findings involving adult respondents aged 15 years and above were tabled at the GATS Malaysia Conference 2011 here Tueday, June 13.

Speaking to reporters after opening the conference, director-general of Health Datuk Dr Hassan Abdul Rahman said the findings would be capitalised in drawing up the National Tobacco Control Action Plan in future.

He said the study showed that 87.1% of smokers were aware of anti-smoking campaigns on television or radio while 45.8% of smokers were thinking of quitting due pictorial health warnings on tobacco packages. Dr. Hassan said 92.2% of respondents believed that smoking could cause serious illness while 85.8% believed that sniffing someone else’s cigarette smoke would cause serious illness.

The survey involved cooperation between the Health Ministry, the World Health Organisation and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. - Bernama.


A perspective

Let's look at a scenario where the RM180 is deposited monthly  into a fund manager (say ASB) account that gives 8% of dividend/bonus annually. From the Table, after 5 years you would have deposited (in this case spent/burnt) $10,800. Calculate the compound interest and you would have accumulated $13,685.

After 20 years of burning fags, you can compare your spendings with those of someone's that are deposited instead. You would have accumulated $106,753; I would love to have that to pay for a nice vacation after 20 years of hardwork.

Year	Year Deposits	Total Deposits	Yearly Interest	Accum. Interest	Total Sum
1	2,160	2,160	172	172	$     2,332.80
5	2,160	10,800	1,013	2,885	$   13,685.61
10	2,160	21,600	2,503	12,194	$   33,794.25
20	2,160	43,200	7,907	63,553	$ 106,753.51

Table 1: Interest is calculated yearly, and added at the end of each year


TheGreenMechanics two cents:

But it's my money and it's my health not yours, you say. Indeed they are yours. I'm just sharing this with everyone and if it's pertinent to what you are looking for, or what you wanted to know, then this will be of benefit to you.

Some would really want to quit smoking (and those includes my circle of friends) but there are also some who would vow to cling on to the addictive taste of fags no matter what.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/06/13/average-smoker-spends-rm180-on-cigarettes-per-month-survey/#ixzz1xdtkL3Yd

Chemical contents of a Cigarette

What's your poison?

The other day, my friend and I were talking about his smoking habit when I asked him how many sticks he burn on a daily basis. He replied that on a normal day he would finish up the whole box of 20 sticks but on days that he stay up late he could continue with a second packet and smoke up to half of its content. I did a little maths and reckoned that his habit could cost him RM400 to RM500 (US$125 - $155) monthly.

I am not asking you to kick that habit right now; I'm just going to share this with you - when you smoke, you inhale up to 4,000 chemicals including these poisons:

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Projectandi

Beware of cigarette promotion by tobacco industry

Society must be wary of efforts by the tobacco industry to promote cigarettes as smoking is harmful to the health and can kill. We have a right to healthy living via tobacco control and should not be conspiring together secretly with the industry.

Recently Health Minister, Dr. Liow said in a statement that the tobacco industry is targeting children as new smokers. Without further elaborating, he hinted that the industry is creating myths about smoking that are appealing to children. What is more alarming (at least to me) is that there are efforts by the tobacco industry to interfere in the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. So, policy makers and the public beware!


What say you?

Scientific evidence showed that smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke caused death, diseases and disabilities. But I'm sure there would be doctors - for whatever reason, and yes you got my point - that'll argue with every fact and figure pertaining to the dangers of smoking.

Again, whether or not you quit smoking is entirely up to you? But as a member of the public I am entitled to a protection from exposure to tobacco smoke at my work place, public places/transport and other areas.

AND that right applies to all other non-smokers, too.