Since 1990, at least in Cali­fornia, it has become in­creasingly more socially unacceptable to smoke. Today, many municipalities and other government bodies have en­acted legislation prohibiting smoking near doorways, in restaurants and bars, in government-owned buildings, on beaches, in parks where small children play and in many other areas.

Why government bodies have ad­opted such anti-smoking policies is obvious—because smoking kills. 

Smokers will most certainly die sooner than they should unless they stop smoking. Yes, we all have to die some day, but why choose a hastened and likely painful death? Smokers could die of a stroke, heart attack or an embolism that could travel and burst somewhere in their bodies like the heart or lung. Dying by these means may prove lucky given other likely longer term more painful means.

Some longer term diseases or disor­ders with lots of suffering: cancer (lung, mouth, throat), emphysema, or perhaps worse, COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

Know anyone with COPD? It’s a horrible way to live let alone die. The COPD victim’s lung capacity decreases as each day passes. Each breath is a struggle. You know the former saying of the American Lung Association, “when you can’t breathe, nothing else matters?” So true for someone with COPD when walking up a flight of stairs could prove deadly.

Smoking is no longer viewed as glamorous or cool. No one believes smoking cigarettes leads to an affluent lifestyle. No one actually believes smok­ing makes you look cool. Picture the mother wearing the stylish outfit, trendy shoes, cute hairstyle…with a cigarette hanging from her mouth as she’s talking to her kids.

Spitting image of the caring mother.

Or imagine the good looking dude kissing his cute girl… interrupted by smoker’s cough, not to mention the bad breath and strong tobacco stench infused in his cool expensive clothes.

Real cool.

Instead, smoking evokes images of bad moral character, a lack of self-con­trol and lack of self-discipline, perhaps even of degenerates.

Sorry to be harsh, smokers, but that is the brutal honest truth.

Unless your social circle is exclu­sively smokers, do you ever find yourself sneaking outside to smoke? Do you try to hide your smoking with gum or perfume?

Guess what, smokers? We’re not fooled. Gum doesn’t work and neither does perfume. And the sneaky smoking adds to the image of bad moral char­acter. It is worse than just admitting to smoking.

True, the majority of smokers do not have bad moral character and are upstanding citizens making contribu­tions to society.

But in the end, if a young person is influenced by a smoker’s behavior and takes up the deadly habit, whatever ac­tions smokers thought they made that were good will absolutely be reversed as smoking causes certain death.

As a smoker, you are consciously choosing to breathe cancer-causing chemicals and infuse deadly toxins into your body. But the problem is that your behavior is potentially threaten­ing the lives of others around you.

Second hand smoking kills too. Non-smokers cannot escape toxic exhales. Poisonous particulate matter has to go somewhere and smokers, you’re not fooling anyone by claiming your toxins dissipate into the air, they dissipate right into someone else’s lungs.

Does that seem like upstanding be­havior and good moral character?

Attention smokers: I understand that nicotine is one of the strongest physical addictions and that it is not easy to stop smoking. I empathize. But that is no excuse for you to continue this deadly habit.

You must stop because you are loved by others yet you are killing them through your second hand smoke.

Smoking is killing your image.

Smoking is killing your relation­ships.

Smoking is killing your opportuni­ties.

Smoking is killing you.

You must stop smoking once and for all—absolutely no excuses.

The good news is, once you stop smoking, your chances of a healthy life increase dramatically.

For smoking cessation resources, please visit the American Lung As­sociation of California at www.califor­nialung.org.
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Trisha Murakawa is a strategic com­munications and public affairs consultant based in Redondo Beach and recently was appointed board chair for the American Lung Association of California. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.