As I walked through the automatic door into the University College Hospital, Galway this morning I noticed an old lady dressed in a pink robe sitting next to the door there. I put a decent smile on my face as she looked at me. A patient that must be. Here it goes again, I mumbled to myself.
Ya in Ireland a lot of people smoke regardless of gender and age, even in the university outdoors! I think they think it keeps them warm from inside for some reason. Interestingly in Malaysia women who smoke will receive dirty looks from their spectators, so no wonder we don't often see women smoking in public in the country. At least from my experience never did I ever see that to be honest.
It is actually merely a culture in Malaysia where the woman-smokers don't smoke publicly because they are dreading people's rough perception on them; not because of the fear of the dangers of smoking itself. What's the difference whether you are a lad or a lass really, the point is that you SMOKE. In any way you're more inclined to develop those tremendous devastating diseases compared to those who remain cigarette-free, still. Heart diseases, lung diseases and diabetes -just to name a few- are all related to smoking. Well established now but who cares?

In fact Islam prohibits its believers from smoking, from any actions that bring more bad than good in essence. So if you do smoke you are not only going against your body's right to stay healthy, your religion that forbids you from doing it [I don't know about other religions], your family and peeps as they are now secondary smokers; in addition you're also afflicting the feelings of those who love you as they're going to lose you sooner or see you suffer if you happen to acquire those awful diseases.
"Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful."[Al-A'raf, 7:157]
There was this one time when I was on the rounds with Mr Sultan's team, apparently Mr Sultan is the Consultant of Vascular Surgery in UCHG. In this one morning when the team went to see this one vascular [pertaining to blood vessels] patient she was not at her bed. With her history of multiple pack years of smoking we suspected that she must had gone somewhere to smoke. Thinking that we'll leave her visit till later we then went down the stairs to get to another ward where we incidentally happened upon her.
I could tell the guilt on her face when everyone in the team watched the consultant emphasizing that she's not helping herself if she still continues to smoke. As I looked at her face I felt like shaking her shoulders [gently, mind you] and question, are you aware of what you are doing? Are you not afraid of losing your limbs?
Sigh, sometimes it's not that they don't want to quit but perhaps they find the longing just too irresistible. Too powerful.
In a nutshell for those who haven't started I advise you not to even think of starting smoking 'cause in simple words once you're in then you're in. Smoking is addictive and is difficult to get away from once you've got hooked up. To those who are giving up smoking, keep on going! Seek help if you need to before it's too late.
P/s: Wondering if hospitals chose not to admit or treat smokers [when they were caught up with a disease related to their own habit], would that result in a plummet in the number of people smoking? -"But doctor, isn't this disease multifactorial?"- Excuses excuses excuses.
*I also have an addiction so I actually kind of understand how hard it is to abstain from something you find pleasure splurging in. My obsession: Food.









