By Angela LIU (Lee Shau Kee Hall)
Just imagine: You see a person who has dry and aged skin and brownish-yellow fingernails. He/she is puffed when taking a long walk. When he/she opens his/her mouth, two rows of stained teeth appear. Do you want to approach him/her? If you don’t want to be isolated by your friends, please don’t smoke. The powerful nicotine will hasten the natural rate of aging and you will be different, or even a weirdo, in others’ eyes. Do you want to see your family suffering from emphysema? Do you want to make your parents’ hair go grey since they are so worried about your health problems? If you don’t, please stop smoking. A smoker is not only irresponsible towards himself/herself, because he/she may suffer from diseases such as throat cancer, emphysema and impotence, but also irresponsible towards his/her beloved family who cares about his/her health. Do you want to rely too much on your family, especially for finance? Do you want to spend a large amount of your parents’ money on a trip to Japan or a notebook? If you don’t, please stop smoking. Just do a simple calculation: the cost of smoking for a year is equal to $28 x 365 = $ 10,220 = 260 hours’ part-time work = a trip to Japan = the residence fees for a whole year. For years, warnings like “smoking is hazardous to your health” and laws like the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap.371) are so familiar that they have been ignored by some student smokers. But now, in accordance with the law, all indoor and outdoor areas in the Student Residence have been designated as non-smoking areas and those who smoke in the Student Residence will be subject to a penalty of $1,500 fixed by the Tobacco Control Office, Department of Health as well as other student disciplinary penalties imposed by the University. No matter whether you consider money or your own health, the feelings of your family, your friends or yourself, smoking is not a good choice for you.