VidYouth

Call it the CANCER STICK in medical terms, the Death stick in moral terms, a Pipe by Sherlock Holmes in intellectual terms, a Hookah by the princely Nizams of Hyderabad in royal terms or a simple BEEDI in the hard working Rickshaw puller’s terms; they all lead one way, which is, definitely “DOWN THE DRAIN”. Debate on it during those long night outs with friends or when in a hospital with your smoking buddy on his death bed, a simple result springs out i.e Smoking definitely Kills. Will people stay away from the harmful Butt then? Rizwan Uddin of MJCET retorts, “One has to die one day anyhow. If I am destined to die with a cigarette in hand, then I consider it quite OK.”  Well, that surely managed to answer the question to some extent. The answer, “NO”.

Why do the people actually take up the habit of smoking? Especially, the question is directed towards the Youth. The most common reason that comes up to the mind of every other smoker is Depression. Its True! It is used to reduce some amounts. Not the depression of course, but surely the number of functioning cells in the human body. Family problems, relationships gone astray, financial issues and educational difficulties all lead to depression. Youth has the cure, right in their pockets. Light a cigarette and tread upon the long path followed by many which can be conveniently called a ‘SUICIDE’. There is no objection to the fact that depression can be countered by loads of aggression but using the cigarette as a source for that aggression is completely useless.

Status, that is one word which every individual craves for. A name in the society is every individual’s dream. Hence, the need for a taller, thicker- Cigarette. Bigger the cigarette, wealthier one looks. A person smoking a cigar is considered more wealthier then the person who cannot afford one. Well, those metal cases comprising of long cigarettes that catches the eye of everyone around is also a defining factor of the status. A man who loves his life and considers it a boon would definitely think otherwise. Cigarette for status is absolutely rubbish.  A healthy life devoid of the toxic breath should be the main concern. Alas!! The reasons continue.

Smoking On Campus. Credits :: Stupendous Calvin

Style! From the James Bond of Hollywood to the Sanjay Dutt of Bollywood, they all use the cigarette as a prop to emphasize their acting prowess.  We, the fickle minded movie goers pick up those tricks in a jiffy. A lesson well learnt. Be it the twirling of the cigarette between the fingers or the ability to light the stick during the heavy winds. These tricks do count in influencing those people who are known to have similar pea-brains to those performing the tricks. Style on campus is also attributed to the smoking sticks of tobacco. Sitting in groups and blowing rings of smoke is obviously considered COOL. A brave attempt to impress the girls who like those in films prefer guys who are tough enough to handle a risk to their lives. The girls (mostly) in real life though think differently. Nida Ghori, a  second year at SUCP exclaims, “Ughhh! Smoking, especially, on campus is not at all accepted.” She continues, ” There are enough places to hangout with friends than a Cafe Latte or a Mocha.” These places along with Koyla, Zehtun are considered as popular hookah hangouts in Hyderabad. A hookah, though known to contain minimal tobacco content is a costly habit to nurture. Though it is devoid of the harmful tobacco, continuous exposure to the flavored fumes in closed hangouts result in minor problems such as blurred vision, headaches etc.

HOOKAH.. Credits :: Stupendous Calvin

Girls joining the bandwagon is a frightening concept. “20% of the girls smoke as much as the boys in public nowadays”, asserts a disappointed Anagha Kumar of St Ann’s College for Women. But, she believes the percentage of girls smoking will be much less in India compared to other countries as it still remains a distant dream for girls to pick up the habit. Anagha exults at the fact that her college is  NO SMOKE ZONE and all the faculty members and students alike respect this rule.

The biggest irony for ages is the presence of a statutory warning on the cigarette pack. Written in huge words, “Cigarette smoking is INJURIOUS to health.”  Injurious to health written on a pack of cigarettes and still the lame smoker debates its affects. Is it enough to leave the matter by expressing a statutory warning without actually implementing it? It is extremely immoral to leave the uneducated person to his fate. Hence, a need of better cautionary warnings. The government though, conveniently takes a back seat in handling this problem. Corrupted as it is, it gets influenced by the high profile tobacco businesses who can satisfy the whims and fancies of our noble politicians. The basic infrastructure of the police is corrupted too. What happened to those laws which demanded a fine from those found smoking at public places? Their complacency can be noted from the fact that the police were themselves spotted smoking on duty. A need for moral policing arises. We encounter moral policing in every field. Why not institutions apart from rehabilitation centers set up to educate the youngsters from avoiding this deadly habit. A definite relief to the parents, the society and most importantly the individual himself.

Smoking In Style. Credits :: Stupendous Calvin

Dave Barry, an American writer and Humorist once quoted, “Cigarette sales would drop overnight if the warning said Cigarettes contain fat.” Apparently, he had a funny way of demanding a decrease in the number of people smoking cigarettes but we do need urgent measures to get rid of this menace in the near future..

Statutory warning :: Cigarette Smoking is injurious to health. This warning on a cigarette pack is made as insignificant as it is while situated at the bottom of this article. Hence we need better ways of handling this issue of toxic death.