Passive smooking

This morning, as used to be, I went to the campus by a public transport. I was surprised the road was not that packed by the vehicles. My trip went smoothly. Only one thing that really annoyed me, that was a smoker sitting next to me. I couldn't believe how a person could stand in the crowd without having feeling of empathy. He seemed to ignore how disturbing he was with a stick of smoky cigarette. Even he enjoyed inhaling and exhaling smoke as if he was living alone with nobody around. A smooth trip seemed so distressful by such a show of puff. Yes, I do not smoke, and I never try to taste the elegance of smoking. An advertisement says that “pria punya selera” (a man has desire) referring to male-smokers who know how to choose the best tobacco quality. I am not impressed by this whatsoever. However, I never detest those who like smoking. I just want them to smoke at the right time and in the right place.

The Jakarta government launched a smoking bylaw couple years ago. The regulation stated that those who commit infringement would be fined up to Rp 50 million. The government established an anti-smoking body that swept smokers in some public areas including public transports. I happened to watch the news on a television channel about its implementaion, I saw local officers in uniform requested smokers in no-smoking areas to butt off the cigerette and gave up their ID cards. Many refused to do so. They argued that they were not criminals and there was no reason to put them in prison or pay unrealistic fine. For sometimes, the numbers of smokers in no-smoking areas dicreased. I did not see many smokers litting their cigarettes inside the malls or public buildings.

Unfortunately, such a regulation gleamingly ceased and it was seen as merely a lip-service campaign. The funniest part of the regulation was that the fine fee which was unlikely practical. Many people were pessimistic and many more mocked this mumbo-jumbo regulation. Many pointed their fingers at some people working at the parliament house where they used to smoke in the air-con rooms. During seminal meetings, people representatives ignorantly showed their ghastly attitudes, such as having chat, sleeping, sending texts, reading newspapers, and smoking!!! Eventually, people started forgetting the bylaw and began returning to their uncivilized habits. This is a matter of who is giving a good example. Is there no an exemplary person in this republic to show respect to the values of humanity?

As a passive smoker, I felt much annoyed and oppressed. I believed that I could not pass on my personal grievance to a government body. Better to keep it in my personal world. Believe it or not, sometimes ago, in 2003, there was research conducted by two researchers from the University of California and the State University of New York. They investigated hundred thousands of nonsmoker adults who were married to active smokers. The data were taken from the American Cancer Society (ACS). They found out that those who were passive smokers living with active smokers were not at high risk of heart attack and lung cancer. They argued that passive smoking is not a perilous.

According to their analysis of this group, passive smoking (by inhaling a spouse's cigarette smoke) wasn't significantly associated with an increased risk of death from coronary heart disease or lung cancer at any time or at any level of exposure. From this finding, the researchers suggested that passive smoking could not generate the 30 per cent increased risk of coronary heart disease. Instead, they were of the opinion that the passive smoking might cause a much smaller effect. But the American Cancer Society (ACS) - the organisation whose data was used - has strongly disapproved the finding. They criticized the fact that the study was funded by the tobacco industry and supported by the now defunct Centre for Indoor Air Research (CIAR) - a group funded and founded by cigarette companies.

Again I would not condemn the smokers. Instead, I would like to call on them to pay attention to the people around them. Smoking is very much annoying if they can feel how the passive smokers feel. I believe tobacco industries have contributed billions of rupiahs to the government and have absorbed hundred thousands of workers. Closing them down is not a wise solution. The best action might be taken is through the implementation of regulation seriously. Educating the smokers through law enforcement sounds a good idea. More importantly, the regulation must hammer all offenders equally if they are found guilty for infringing the ban of smoking in the designated areas. I was astonished by the fact that many Indonesian heavy smoking friends in Australia obeyed the ban of smoking in no-smoking areas. I had to thumb up for their good attitude towards the regulation. However, such attitudes just went with the wind when they got back to Indonesia. Back to their "nature", they enjoyed a great freedom for smokers. Then, welcome to the smoking country whose big cities are full of air pollution.

It seems somewhat cliche to hope people behave themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to enjoying clean air and comfortable atmosphere whereever I go. The underlying question is WHEN?

Ciputat, 8/4/08