Say "No" to Smokers

I was not feeling well that day. I was feeling so awful that I had to go to the doctor. I do not like seeing doctor actually. Like most other Indonesians, if the fact is true, I do not go to the doctor unless the illness is extremely bad or at least definitely annoying, or it prevents me from going to work for too long, meaning that I will earn less next month. What makes it worse; my employers do not pay for the doctor.

Now I was in the waiting room. I really hate waiting. The truth is no one likes it! I picked up a magazine from under the table and looked it up. Nothing interested me. All was about women’s stuff and quizzes since it was a woman magazine. I look around the room, and I saw an old granny—a granny must be old, mustn’t she—who was holding her bloated cheek. It seemed that she was suffering from a terrible toothache. She kept making a disturbing sound which really perfected my bad day. Not the right person to talk with to kill this boredom.

In front of me was a good looking girl, a very pretty girl, to be exact. I might have spent hours chatting with her, but in the room she was busy talking to his spoiled boyfriend who seemed to need to see the doctor, too. The chance was gone. And I was too reluctant to get close to a charming lady sitting rather far from my seat. I was not really sure that she would like to talk to me, any way. As a result, I just had to wait and do nothing until the call was for me.

After about thirty minutes, which seemed to me like a whole week, the assistant pronounced my name. You can’t disagree with this; “the sweetest song to anyone’s ears is the sound of their own name”. Narsis!—I don’t really know exactly how to spell the word or what language the word comes from, and I, at first, even thought the word was the play of the word “najis”. I promptly lifted my ass off the seat and directly headed to the doctor’s room.

In the room I was so amazed—I don’t actually remember about what I really felt—at this sight that I statued for a while until the doctor asked me to sit down. I could not believe what I was seeing! In the room was the doctor smoking. “What the h*** are you doing?”, that was what I had in my head. Only I did not have a heart to deliver it to my mouth and say it.
Before he did his duty, which was asking me questions, I asked him this stupid question, “Don’t you know that smoking is not good for your health?” I knew that my questioning was like mapatahan ngojay ka meri—a sundanese saying which literally means teaching swimming to a duck, or mapatahan hiber ka manuk—another sundanese saying which plainly means telling a bird how to fly.
I am not an authority in health, but I often heard of the danger of having cigarettes. It is no secret that smoking is dangerous to our health. Equally, second-hand smoke (the smoke that is given off from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar or the smoke that is exhaled from a smoker’s lungs) is also recognized for contributing to a wide range of undesirable health effects including cancer and asthma.
He smiled innocently before he answered, “I’m a doctor, and I know what I’m doing!” I had no reason to argue or to follow the question. A “sweet” smile in his mouth did not make him look friendly at all. I even saw a mouth of a wolf with fresh blood in it when he opened his mouth to speak.

I know exactly what his answer meant. I would not have asked this ridiculous question if he had not been doing it at the wrong place. I anticipated that it was a wrong place to smoke, don’t you think?

This doctor, who was at the same time an “irresponsible” smoker, asked me questions. Although I was not sure about his being able to diagnose correctly, or give or recommend the right medicines, I answered all his questions one after another. I was consulting the doctor but I did not trust him. How could it work?

This discomfort, which shouldn’t have had been, finally came to an end. Before I left, without any intention to find out the answer, I asked him this silly question, “Are you sure I’ll get better in a couple of days as you told me?”

As he put out his cigarette end in an ashtray, he answered in a “wise” manner, “Only God knows what will happen tomorrow.”

***

As I arrived home, I was thinking about what had just happened. I had even forgotten that I had been sick a while ago. The doctor was not completely “bad”, in fact. At least he was right about one thing, only God knows about the future.

Above is only one real example of smoking at the right time—the time is always right for smokers, anyway—but at the wrong place. Have you ever been in an angkot full of smoke coming out of some revolting mouths of some disgusting guys? These guys are enjoying the poison and pretending that nobody is around.

At another place, as a caring future father with a pregnant wife, why does he poison his unborn son together with his wife with this hazardous smoke?

Have you ever seen a father smoking at home with his children around? Realizing it, he lets them breathe in this harmful smoke from day to day, week to week… Do not say that you are one of those irresponsible fathers. There are still a lot more examples. You mention it!

It’s not actually my problem if an adult jumps from the tenth floor of a building. I also do not really care about a man doing 120 km per hour in his car without a brake. And I won’t be really disturbed when a parent cuts his own artery to death. But, it will be my concern if you jump fro the height to a crowd down there, if you risk other motorists, or if you take your son or daughter to “hell”. Go ahead risk yourself, but not others!

I don’t mind smokers at all, and I have been there myself. But I say “No” to irresponsible smokers. Let say “NO” to IRRESPONSIBLE SMOKERS! And for pregnant women, why not say “AMIT AMIT” to them.

***

PS: A person who smokes should not be treated as less than a citizen. While their decision may be unwise for their health, it is not an illegal activity. They do not deserve to have their rights stripped due to their risky decision. On the other hand, stopping smoking for an hour or two will not kill smokers, but letting children, pregnant women, and other non-smokers inhale the smoke does “kill” them.