-SMOKING-

Smoking cigarette is a habit some people pick during their lifetime.It is also
a difficult habit to kick as the nicotine in the cigarette is very addictive.Although
many people are aware of the dangers of smoking,the number of smokers is
increasing.In fact,at least 200 million women in this world are smokers.This figure
is illustrated by the common scenarios of women smoking in Asian countries.It
has now become a norm for Asian women to smoke as it has for Western women.

There are many reasons as why people pick up this unhealthy habit.For
young smokers,such as tenagers,smoking is due to pressure.Friends smoke and
invite you to try it out.This trying out session is usually done in groups.Those
outside the group or rather those who refuse to try smoking are somehow bullied
or lured into trying.The trial sessions go on for some time and finally some of
them become habitual smokers.

To the the teenagers,smoking makes them feel independent,sophisticated

and grow up.They indulge in smoking and become chain smokers.By the time they
realise the dangers of smoking,it is already difficult for them to quit the
habit.Those who get addicted at a leter age,blame it on the working
environment.Some start off as social smokers;they smoke only when they are
with friends,and others see smoking as a way of releasing tension due to work
pressure.It helps them to relax and cope with the demands of work.

The dangers of smoking have been advocated at home,in schools and in the
media,but it seems to be falling on deaf ears.The society still fails to see the long
term effects that this habit has on them.Those who smoke an everage pack a day
finally succumb to lung cancer,heart attack and emphysema.Women smokers
especially face greater effects.Those who fail to kick the habit even when they are
pregnant will endanger the child that they are bearing.There have been reported
cases of babies born handicap due to smoking mothers.
 There has always been public debate as to why the government still allows
cigarettes companies to produce and sell cigarettes.The reason is that these rich
companies somehow create job opportunities and provide financial support for
the government can do,it is up to the individuals to make the choice whether to
live a healthy or succumb to the sins of smoking.