Yosi kadiri! (Cigarette is disgusting!)
I remember growing up hearing this being said by former Senator Juan Flavier, who was then the secretary of the Department of Health.
DOH launched a campaign against cigarette smoking at that time. There was even a mascot who represents a stinky and dirty human version of the cigarette.
Being a child at that time, that campaign against cigarette smoking had an impact on me. I believed in the TV commercials and the posters that cigarettes are bad for our health.
When I was growing up, I made sure I will never smoke cigarettes. I was thinking then, what will I get from it anyway? I am very much aware that it's bad for my health, so there's no need for me to even try. Besides, it's just going to cause me money. Cigarette is not like food that I will feel good about eating and will make me full.
I never felt the peer pressure that other smokers reason out as to why they learned to smoke. I had friends and classmates in college who smoke a lot. In the workplace, I have always had a lot of colleagues smoking. Nevertheless, I had always managed to politely say that I don't smoke.
Having this outlook about cigarette smoking, I never thought that I will be married to a chain smoker. Barry and I had a lot of misunderstandings because of this vice. We even had a compromise then that he can smoke but he should learn to limit himself.
For quite some time, Barry stopped smoking. I was very proud of him at that time because I did not ask him to do so. He did it on his own will. I then thought that he will never be tempted to smoke again.
I guess I was wrong, because Barry smoked again. My only consolation is that, he doesn't smoke as much as he used to. Somehow, he managed to limit himself. He promised me that he will stop smoking completely, in time. He asked me to be patient with him and give him ample time to quit. He said that he will make sure he keeps his promise.
I am not forcing my spouse to quit smoking if he doesn't want to. I know that quitting is not easy. My concern is that, our son is growing up fast. In time, he will ask me why I allow his father to smoke when I tell him that it's bad. I don't want to see my son smoking cigarettes. It has been proven that it can do anyone no good.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. I better prevent my son from even trying to smoke cigarettes, than for him to smoke in the future and then make an attempt to quit.
I remember growing up hearing this being said by former Senator Juan Flavier, who was then the secretary of the Department of Health.
DOH launched a campaign against cigarette smoking at that time. There was even a mascot who represents a stinky and dirty human version of the cigarette.
Being a child at that time, that campaign against cigarette smoking had an impact on me. I believed in the TV commercials and the posters that cigarettes are bad for our health.
When I was growing up, I made sure I will never smoke cigarettes. I was thinking then, what will I get from it anyway? I am very much aware that it's bad for my health, so there's no need for me to even try. Besides, it's just going to cause me money. Cigarette is not like food that I will feel good about eating and will make me full.
I never felt the peer pressure that other smokers reason out as to why they learned to smoke. I had friends and classmates in college who smoke a lot. In the workplace, I have always had a lot of colleagues smoking. Nevertheless, I had always managed to politely say that I don't smoke.
Having this outlook about cigarette smoking, I never thought that I will be married to a chain smoker. Barry and I had a lot of misunderstandings because of this vice. We even had a compromise then that he can smoke but he should learn to limit himself.
For quite some time, Barry stopped smoking. I was very proud of him at that time because I did not ask him to do so. He did it on his own will. I then thought that he will never be tempted to smoke again.
I guess I was wrong, because Barry smoked again. My only consolation is that, he doesn't smoke as much as he used to. Somehow, he managed to limit himself. He promised me that he will stop smoking completely, in time. He asked me to be patient with him and give him ample time to quit. He said that he will make sure he keeps his promise.
I am not forcing my spouse to quit smoking if he doesn't want to. I know that quitting is not easy. My concern is that, our son is growing up fast. In time, he will ask me why I allow his father to smoke when I tell him that it's bad. I don't want to see my son smoking cigarettes. It has been proven that it can do anyone no good.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. I better prevent my son from even trying to smoke cigarettes, than for him to smoke in the future and then make an attempt to quit.
No comments:
Post a Comment