Saturday, November 10, 2007 Antalan: Holy smoke! By Roger P. Antalan Dateline Igacos
I HAD wanted to write about smoking long ago. But I wanted to do it when I stopped smoking. It took quite a time.
Last January 31, I had a heart attack. Serious enough for me to be confined for almost a week at the ICU. Then on March 15, 2007, I had Angioplasty at the Philippine Heart Center. Stints were placed in two of my blood vessels to clear the flow of blood.
Because of the life-threatening heart attack, and mainly, because the hospitalization cost a fortune (most of my savings gone to smoke), I stopped smoking.
My heart doctor broke the bad news slowly. First, it's my age, susceptible to heart attacks and strokes. Then there's the lifestyle issue, too much stress, the kind and amount of food taken and so forth and so on. Then the final judgment: "It is the smoking that is the main culprit." All those years of heavy smoking. Now it's payback time.
Looking back, it was really hard to stop smoking. I did not, would not, listen to any advice and to all the requests to stop or slowdown from my loved ones. I was feeling fine, I told them. I did not inhale the smoke, just puffing all the way.
Even the silly rationalizations were accepted at that time, such as, "Why give up when you have invested so much already." Here's another non sequitur, really: "Don't stop, a number of people died when they stopped smoking."
My favorite story was that of the late Senator and Ambassador Blas Ople who died at age 85 (bless his soul). He was supposed to have said: "Many of my contemporaries have died, and most of them did not smoke!"
Even the street philosopher has a story to tell. It goes like this: Non-smoker: "If you did not smoke all these years, you could have built a house." Smoker: "Ha! Look at you, you don't smoke, but you don't have a house!"
The cigarette makes one feel great, independent, and strong. Macho-the image portrayed by the well-known Marlboro Country image. That's what the Korean national displayed when he insisted on smoking inside the taxicab. Nobody can tell him what to do!
It makes one feel glamorous like the handsome men and beautiful women engaged in classy sports of the Winston, Champion, and Hope cigarette ads.
Smokers will insist that smoking helps them think creatively while doing or writing important work or assignment.
The cigarette is the ultimate companion of the cup of coffee and/or a bottle of beer.
Finally, some would even claim that smoking is part of their human rights.
Four packs a day, easily a P100 a day, P3,000 a month. What a big "investment." Sisirain ang katawan mo, bubutasin pa ang bulsa mo. But that's not the only arithmetic of smoking. A writer wrote about the cigarette. "I am not much of a mathematician," said the cigarette, "but I can add to man's nervous trouble. I can subtract from his physical energy, I can multiply his aches and pains. I can divide his mental powers. I can take interest from his work and discount his chances for success."
If you smoke, you won't go to hell, but you'll smell like you've been there. Not to mention the unsightly yellow fingers, stains in the teeth, bad breath, and the bothersome smoker's cough. And the ever possible danger of inflicting cancer on the non-smokers around one who smokes.
Sixty percent of smokers suck on "light" or "mild" cancer sticks. According to a recent University of Montreal Study the nicotine levels of "lights" and "milds" are five percent higher than regular sticks, and reduced only four out of 44 toxins. "Everyone knows it," the study says, "Not Smoking - and not being exposed to any smoke - is the only real healthy habit."
"Holy Smoke!" is an expression in English signifying surprise at something that is unbelievable or incredible. There are lots of things incredible about cigarette smoking, as we have seen above. E.g. according to the WHO, about 100,000 children worldwide start smoking everyday - roughly half of whom live in Asia.
In sum, how is it that cigarette companies can still sell all these cancer sticks with all the carcinogens and toxic chemicals on their packs? Notwithstanding the required government warning: "Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to your Health." How can countless people enjoy polluting their lungs and poisoning their whole body system? That's incredible, unbelievable!
"Holy Smoke!" There is absolutely nothing "holy" about cigarette smokes.
