Smoking is a very bad habit and unfortunately many teenagers are picking it up.
It is an issue that those in authority appear to turn a blind eye to. I have never smoked in my life but I have often been in the company of those who do.
The questions that arise are
why do so many teenagers smoke and what benefits do they gain from this terrible habit?
The likeliest answer to the first question is that smoking remains ‘fashionable’.
Others say that smoking gives them the sense that they are no longer kids and that they are adults.
Cigarettes, however, are simply cancer sticks which, in the long run, can only bring about lung diseases.
Every inhale lessens the chances of exhaling again.
Many people in residential areas have indeed been complaining of the stink of cigarette smoke caused mainly by young smokers.
The authorities have been studying this issue and came up with some preventative measures.
We have seen malls, for example, banning not only the young from smoking on their premises but adults too.
Nevertheless, the authorities should take further strict actions against those selling cigarettes.
The solution?
* Firstly, let us have more extra-curricular activities created by schools around Bahrain so that teenagers have something valuable to do in their free time.
Once they have new interesting activities the young smokers will soon recognise that there are other things much more “fashionable”. At the very least it will help them then to abstain from smoking and develop passions for something else.
* Secondly, the government should also pass a law banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone under 18 and enforce it.
Anyone buying a pack would be obliged to present an identity card to verify that they are indeed of age.
Let us not choose to overlook and ignore this issue. It is a problem … and it does exist.
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YouthTalk
By Ismaeel Na’ar
