Ban promises to do good

SINGAPORE'S new smoke-free measures promise cleaner and healthier air for me.

My experiences with smoking have always been painful. Inconsiderate smokers have flicked hot ash on me, and I have felt choked by cigarette smoke while standing with smokers at pedestrian crossings.

I hope the extended ban will also deter underage teenagers from puffing away on costly 'cancer sticks'.

They should be spending time and money on healthier activities, rather than tarring the insides of their lungs.

My 18-year-old friend who picked up the habit three years ago has become a chain-smoker.

He is a bright tertiary-level student, but looks like a walking zombie.

As soon as he gets a school break, he rushes to the nearest HDB block for a puff. During examinations, he wears nicotine patches.

I have heard that smoking is a hard habit to break. With the ban, I hope it will be a hard one to pick up too.

Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir, 18, has a place to read Business at New York University.

Respect smokers too

AS A non-smoker, I welcome the recent widening of anti-smoking laws.

However, as much as we assiduously assert our right to clean air, we should not cast aspersions on smokers and treat them as social outcasts.

To them, taking a puff might be just an outlet to escape the hectic pace of life.

Likewise, youth make a conscious choice when they pick up the habit, and as long as they do not cross the line by subjecting those around them to passive smoking, they should be left on their own. Designated smoking points at hawker centres, entertainment outlets and workplaces serve this purpose well.

Even though I would not want anyone in my family to start smoking, in striving to forge an inclusive society, we should also exercise consideration and spare law-abiding smokers our antipathy and negative presumptions.

Muhammad Farouq Osman, 20, has a place to read Arts and Social Sciences at National University of Singapore

Smokers will be smokers

I ABHOR socially irresponsible smokers who blatantly light up in front of non-smokers.

While I should be happy with the expansion of the smoking ban, the cynic in me fails to see how effective it will be.

These hardcore smokers might just come up with ways to evade the authorities to satisfy their smoking urges, instead of making an effort to quit.

No ban will be effective if smokers themselves do not exercise responsibility and take note of others around them when they light up.

The expansion of the ban should be a strong hint to them of how adverse the effects of second-hand smoke can be.

Ramya, 21, is an honours student in Banking and Finance at the Singapore Institute of Management.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 12, 2009.