The Impossible Oath

Maka kami,
rakyat Malaysia yang berokok,
berikrar
akan menumpukan seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami
untuk mencapai objektif-objektif berikut:
-tidak merokok di tandas awam
-tidak membuang puntung rokok sesuka hati
-tidak membeli rokok jika di bawah 18 tahun
-tidak merokok di tempat-tempat awam
-tidak merokok di depan perempuan mengandung dan kanak-kanak
-tidak menghembus asap rokok ke arah orang lain

Why did I spend 10 minutes writing this stupid oath?!
That's because I don't like smoking!!

Don't misunderstand, I have nothing against smokers. But people ought to be considerate, smokers or non-smokers alike. Of course, the smokers can help by doing the above. It doesn't mean that they can't smoke, but they can do it considerately.

One major issue I have against inconsiderate smokers is smoking in toilets!! I'd rather smell all the pee and shit there is in a dirty toilet than cigarette smoke. At least the former won't kill me.

Instead, I get "Malaysia's infamous rojak tandas"!! Apart from the intolerable smell of pee and shit, cigarette smoke is added into the mix, creating the "smog of death"!! If you don't suffocate till death, you would eventually die from cancer!! *evil laugh*

Littering is another issue for me. If I could find a dustbin before I even create rubbish, why can't smokers do the same?? Just find a dustbin/ashtray before you smoke. Simple enough? Surely you would say "what if there aren't any around?? I like to smoke where and when I like".

Okay fair enough. Could you at least put the cigarette bud back into the box? There's an empty space for that cigarette you just smoked right? Well just put it back in. And when you finally finished the box of cigarettes, just throw the whole box away... Simple right?? No, its not a fresh idea, its just that you never thought of not littering in the first place. =_=

I do mind when smokers just simply exhale the poisonous smoke in whichever direction they like, especially if its towards other people regardless of smokers or non-smokers. There is no doubt that second hand smoke (SHS) causes more damage than first hand smoke.

Normally I would just evade smokers by sitting as far away as I can. If not, I'll use body language to tell them that I don't like it. Although SHS will affect my health, its effects towards pregnant women and young children are significantly higher. Yet, my own uncle used to smoke in the presence of his pregnant wife and IS smoking in front of his kids. i.e. my cousins. It just didn't seem right for me to say "its for you and your family's own good". After all, his wife couldn't do anything about it, and you think I could??

I think heard my Pengajian Am (PA) teacher say that "smoking in public is illegal in Malaysia, but not many people know about it." I wouldn't jump to conclusions, so I did some searching and I found this website: Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC)





Almost immediately, I found the folder which supposedly contain the laws regarding tobacco in Malaysia.



Lets take a look inside...






What?? Nothing??? Well there should be!! Or so I thought...

IMHO, the government should really do something about it, at least to keep people like me from making it another reason to not vote for them.

Lastly, what would an anti-smoking post like this be without a no-smoking sign to end it with? =p