smoking

Smoking kills.. one way or another..

A freak accident happened in my University a few days ago.. it actually happened within my Dept's building.. Three freshmen from the Finance Dept went up to the rooftop to smoke during a short break around 10am. No smoking is allowed within the campus so they went up there to get their nicotine fix. They allegedly climbed over a 1.5m wall and sat on/around a lighting shade (采光罩). Unfortunately, that shade was not meant to handle the weight of an adult, it gave way and one of the freshmen fell. He came crushing through (from 12th floor) and landed on the 4th floor patio. He didn't make it. His two friends were shocked but unscathed.

I was not in campus that time nor was I aware of this accident until I received an email from the University later that day asking all its students to be observant and safe within the campus. When the news broke that night many people commented on it over the cyberspace. Almost of all them had nothing good to say about the stupidity of those freshmen and most condemned their brainlessness in tempting fate. It is common sense that the function of lighting shade is to allow sunlight through and is NOT meant to be stepped on much less sat on. It was something that even the kids know never to do. Thus there is no surprise that the online communities were having a ball chiding and criticizing the stupidity of these freshmen. And it didn't help when the parents of the deceased asked for the 'examination of the lighting shade for possible design flaws'.

Sadly in this time and age, young people are still taking up smoking in great numbers. Even when we are informed by scientists and doctors that smoking kills, people are still hanging on to their nicotine addiction. I pity those young people who continues to smoke because they think they are cool by buffing away. And I take even greater pity on those who 'worship' smokers because they 'looked' cool with a cigarette in their mouth/fingers.

I'm all for personal freedom, but that personal freedom does not include polluting the air that everyone is breathing. I really want to ask all those smokers to smoke and breath their own smoke, like the drawing on the left. Then they can smoke anywhere and anytime they like. If they want to shorten their life and damage their lungs, they are entitled to do that. Just not within the same space as mine.