In developed countries, it is not
rare to find accomplished professionals and family-oriented persons who smoke and don't
mind if their status is open knowledge to family, friends and colleagues.
However, this is not the case in Nigeria as the act of smoking is not only a
designated health issue but a moral one.
For example, a girl would never think
of mentioning to her parents that her boyfriend smokes and for a girl who
smokes, she might as well forget about being married to her fiancé if his
parents ever finds out that she's got the puffing habit.
Despite the health implications
and cultural stigma that should naturally prevent learned persons from taking
that first puff, there are still 'clean' people who defy these inhibitions and
still navigate their life into the path of a smoking habit. We borrowed the
word 'clean' from the local lingo and it refers to a person who is economically
comfortable, good looking and appears to be responsible.
In general, Nigerians view
smoking as a vice that should not be condoled and this may explain why 'clean'
people who smoke do so through a closeted lifestyle. A major evidence to this
fact is the lack of pictorial content on the web depicting a 'clean' Nigerian smoking.
We typed in the words "Americans smoking" in the popular image search
site - images.google.com and on the first page, we could immediately site one 'clean'
American smoking. We did the same with the phrase "British smoking"
and we sited even more 'clean' people on the first page including women.
Another search on "Chinese smoking" and the first page showed so many
'clean' Chinese men puffing away.
Finally, we typed in the words "Nigerians
smoking" and we could not find a single full faced clean person smoking on
either the first or second page of the search result. So, if smoking is such a
taboo in Nigeria, why would a 'clean' person still take up the habit?
We spoke to some professionals
who smoke with the intent of understanding what could have led them to a
lifestyle that is physically dangerous and culturally frowned upon and these
are their own words -
“I am an Engineer. I started
smoking in 1997 when I was in University and got into smoking out of my will
due to peer pressure. I wanted to be among the happening guys. Back then if you
can’t beat them, you join them. I knew I definitely wanted to join them because
if you don't, you'll be seen as out of
fashion or a slacker plus I was scared of losing my friends.”
“I am a Medical Doctor. I started
smoking when I was in JSS 3 but got really addicted when I got to the
University. I was adventurous as a kid, I had seen a lot of people smoke, so
wanted to try it out myself and before I knew it, I got hooked.”
“I am self employed, I started
smoking in 2005 after my Dad passed away, i was very close to my Dad so
couldn’t believe I won’t see him again, the stress, the pressure led me into
smoking. It was easy for me to dabble into it because my elder sister also
smoked. I now enjoy smoking so don’t think I will stop any time soon.”
“I am the CEO of a company. I
started 3rd year at the University as a casual smoker. Each time my
friends and I hung out, I will try a few sticks but didn't really get addicted
to it. I've stopped though, but I can say that it was a good distraction.”
In life, habits can be very hard
to break and smoking is even more difficult as a result of nicotine contained in
cigarettes and it is clear that most of the people interviewed took up smoking at
a young age when they are yet able to appreciate the impact and implications of
smoking on their health. We hope their responses would help parents and
guardians who are grooming tomorrow's 'clean' Nigerians to know how best to protect
their wards from taking the first puff so they'll be free from smoking-related diseases
and hazards.
Join the campaign for a
tobacco-free Nigeria by signing up as a Tobacco Control Cause Champion. Simply
send your 1) Name, 2) Email address, 3) Telephone No and 4) Location to
info(at)socialresponsibilitymanagers.org. Signing up will get you a chance to
have a specially designed Facebook, Twitter and G+ profile banner graced with
Stella Damasus' and Fela Durotoye's pictures.
You should also actively
participate in the discussions presently ongoing on the following social
media platforms:
- Twitter: Follow @TobaccoCtrl
- Facebook: Visit and like Tobaccoctrl
- Google Plus: add
Tobaccoctrl to your circle
- 2go: add Tobaccoctrl
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