Your letters: Cigarette smoke is everywhere

Paper Edition | Page: 5

My wife and I recently arrived to work in Jakarta for an international company and we are happy to be here in beautiful Indonesia, but we are discouraged by the fact that we are exposed to smokers everywhere we go, even inside malls and restaurants.

It’s like stepping back in time to the dark ages, after enjoying life in countries where smoking has been phased out.

I realize it is cheap to smoke here in Jakarta and so many men smoke here but they fail to understand the repercussions of the filthy habit, from bad teeth, bad breath, toxins in your body and lungs, cancer and also how it affects others through second hand smoke.  

We find it disgusting to go to a restaurant in any mall in this city and find smokers belching out toxins while we eat and then spitting outside where we walk.  

I’ve known people who develop cancer because of smoking, which leads to a slow, painful death and other health problems like breathing through a hole in your throat. If you want to fight your cancer and treat it, then you can expect a hefty health bill for drugs and treatment while having no income, as you cannot work when you have cancer.  

If not for yourself, think about your kids and family. Think about the example you are setting for them.

Please lets pressure the government here to stand up to the pressure of the tobacco firms, educate the public on the horrors of smoking and start enforcing existing rules to completely ban smoking at all indoor venues.

It would be a good start to put large warning labels featuring graphic content on cigarette packets.  It also would help by doubling taxes on the cost of a pack, which will discourage new smokers from starting an expensive and disgusting habit.

Jeff
Jakarta