Weird Reflections and Random Thoughts by Leong Gen

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(Thursday, March 6, 2008-)
+5:56 AM]*

# More than just cigarettes-

This is a commentary of the article posted below. This is written for my English Blog project for Term 1. The focus is "Teenage and Social Issues". Many haven't posted...and deadline is less than 9 minutes away...

What is forbidden when we are young, discouraged when we are older, but still legal? Smoking, number one in advertisements telling you to quit and assembly programs.

This article is about teenagers who smoke as an act of defiance and the shopkeepers who sell cigarettes illegally to the teenagers. By saying "I'm 18", teenagers aged from 14 and above gain access to cigarettes from shopkeepers who are not supposed to sell them to minors under 18. It is also illegal for minors to smoke too, but a short walk around your neighbourhood can make you feel as if this law is non-existent.

In my view, this is an extremely worrying "phenomenal" as such an act is blatantly illegal, for both the shopkeeper and the teenagers. Apart from the usual concern that smoking is unhealthy, I feel that there are greater societal problems apart from that.

Shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to minors are breaking the law. Is there something so wrong with our society, that even shopkeepers commit illegal acts just to earn a bit more? For provision shop owners, the profit goes directly to them, but what about the employees in big chains such as Seven-Eleven? Why do they sell cigarettes to a minor, without asking them for identification of any kind?

This could be a consequence of our society have made them have such a "couldn't care less" attitude. "Since I'm paid the same amount, why bother?"

However, the more worrying part is that minors are even smoking. The consequences like health risks and financial troubles are important, but we must also examine the cause. Peer pressure is often cited as the main reason teenagers turn to cigarettes.

Peer pressure as a reason to smoke speaks a lot about our society. Teenagers rather listen to one another than to listen to authoritative figures, like their parents or teachers. They also know that what they are doing is illegal. Such rebellious attitude is acceptable but only to a certain extent. Disregard with the law now spells trouble when they grow up. Either teenagers these days are truly revolutionary (beware ) or that our society has degraded to such an extent that the law can be ignored, even though it might be a small matter (which it is not).

A teenager quoted in the article stated that he wants to smoke because smoking "made him feel big, like an adult". I feel that society is partly responsible for such a flawed viewpoint. Our society constantly emphasise on being bigger and more mature than the people around us. This view is then warped into "You lose if you look immature". Smoking projects an image of (false) maturity in which teenagers want to emulate. This brings us back to peer pressure, albeit an indirect one.

The current state of teenage smoking in Singapore is depressing, due to negligent shopkeepers and society on teenagers. We have took action on the legislative front; its time to do the same for our society.

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499 words

Revolutionary people don't smoke cigarettes, cigars are preferred. Maybe 7-11 staff members are controlled by tobacco manufacturers? Ahhh!

Labels: eng blog

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+5:36 AM]*

# English Blog Project Term 1 Article-

This is the article for my english blog project. As the link most probably do not work (due to a need of signing in), the whole article is reproduced here.

Taken from SPH Newslink: Click Here to access the article

So Simple to Light Up

By Samuel Lim

The Straits Times 16/05/06

Curiosity, peer pressure and the wish to rebel prompt teens to pick up smoking, they tell reporter Samuel Lim - and there are plenty of shops where they can easily get their hands on that first pack

IN SINGAPORE, you have to be 18 and above to buy cigarettes legally.

Samantha Lee, 15, in a denim skirt and pink T-shirt, bought a pack of Marlboro Menthol Lights at a coffee shop in Serangoon.

'I'm 18' was all that Mervyn Lau, 14, needed to say to get a pack of Virginia Slims from 7-Eleven.

But when Natalie Koh, 15, wanted to buy a pack of Marlboro Lights and tried to convince Mr Heng Mui Thiang, a provision shop owner in Ang Mo Kio, that she had left her identity card at home, she was rebuffed.

She was told very firmly: 'Sorry. No IC, no sale.'

Her back-up plan: 'I guess we'll just have to go to the 7-Eleven across the road instead.'

Mr Heng was one of 15 shopkeepers who asked for proof of age - out of 40 outlets licensed to sell cigarettes that The Straits Times visited.

The opposite happened when a photojournalist - armed with a large camera - accompanied members of the INCrowd on the assignment. Two underage buyers managed to purchase only one pack of cigarettes after trying at 10 different stores.

Because cigarettes are so easily obtained, some teens see them as an accessible kind of forbidden fruit.

So what if buying them is illegal, they say, hardly anyone says 'no' to them. They are more afraid of school rules against smokers - they may get expelled if teachers and principals catch them.

Teens who smoke - and buy cigarettes - are unconcerned about the health risks.

'Those who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to develop severe nicotine addiction than those who start later,' said Dr Khoo See Meng, associate consultant of the National University Hospital's division of respiratory medicine.

'Teenage smokers are also more likely to have seen a doctor or health professional for an emotional or psychological complaint.'

Still, they start because they are curious, want to rebel or are under peer pressure.

Shun Tao, 16, who started smoking two years ago, bought her first cigarette from the provision shop at her void deck. One stick soon grew to one pack a day, and she stated sadly: 'I'm addicted.'

Want to be like an adult

LOGAN, now 20, began smoking secretly at 13 although 'I knew it was illegal'. He said smoking 'made me feel big, like an adult'.

Older teens even see smoking as a social activity.

When Patrick Tang, 17, started school in Singapore Polytechnic, he felt left out whenever his friends went for a 'smoke break'.

He picked up smoking recently despite protests from his friends because he was tired of being 'the only one who was left behind with nothing to do'.

This sort of group-think makes the habit appealing to the young.

Mr Tham Lup Hong, head of the Health Sciences Authority's Tobacco Regulation Unit, pointed out that underage smoking is a social problem.

That is why enforcing the law to curb buying will not be enough to prevent teens from smoking.

Public education, community involvement and parental instruction all play an important role in addressing the matter.

This drive, headed by the Health Promotion Board, has yielded some results - almost all teen smokers say they find the habit 'unhealthy'.

But just how far from their minds is 'unhealthy' as they puff away?

'I smoke because it's fun. There's no harm in trying,' said Patrick.

Never mind that young smokers are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease, twice as likely to have stroke and, on average, live seven years less than their non-smoking peers.

Already, smokers who picked up the habit as teens now sing a different tune, as health issuesbecome more pertinent as they age.

Sashi, 20, who has been smoking on and off for seven years, regrets even starting. Now, he says: 'They don't know what they're getting into. It's going to take their life and their money away.'

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(Wednesday, March 5, 2008-)
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