The right to health

I’m going to take a break from the elections—I think we all need a break from the elections—and talk about another kind of campaign, this a more noble and worthy—and certainly healthy—kind of campaign.

Last Thursday was World No Tobacco Day, and that is one campaign that we should all engage in with as much energy and passion and resources as all the candidates in the last elections put together. The adverse health effects of smoking is no longer subject to debate, no matter what tobacco companies and incorrigible smokers may still say. 

All the medical evidence and research papers in the universe is not enough evidence for someone who simply wants to smoke; a person who won’t give up the habit will always have a reason not to give it up. One smoker I know insists that if you have been smoking for many years it’s actually dangerous, even fatal, to stop because your body will not be able to cope with the absence of the nicotine and whatever other substances smoking puts into your system. And in such cases it’s a waste of time and energy arguing with a person lost within his/her personal cloud of deadly smoke.

But smoking isn’t a solitary danger; one person smoking doesn’t just endanger himself. In a press conference leading up to World No Tobacco Day, WHO country representative Jean-Marc Olivé and Health Secretary Francisco Duque II reiterated the dangers of second-hand smoke: the cancer one inconsiderate person exhales endangers everyone else around. Just like the drunk driver is a danger to everyone else on the road, a smoker is a danger to everyone within breathing distance.

Thus the WHO recommendation that all indoor areas be 100 percent smoke free should be considered and implemented. Just as people infected with contagious diseases should be isolated, so smokers who spread contagion should not be allowed to contaminate the general population.

“A smoking ban is not about infringing rights, it is about protecting people’s health,” Olivé said.