Despite smoking bans in a lot of public places and venues, graphics images of the harms of smoking plastered everywhere even on the cigarette packaging and the prices rising, people still continue to smoke! This is a legal addiction that has taken over thousands of nations and has often been a habit passed down through generations, despite the harms and medical implications.
A lot of people know it is wrong to smoke but continue to do so anyway as it is a form or relief or comfort, others ignore the risks and health implications and carry on through ignorance or desperation to fit in. However, we often don’t look at the implications and image it forces onto our younger generations as people happily stand on streets, in parks and out in the general public lighting up!
Check out this social experiment where a young boy aged just 10 asks adult smokers to help him light his cigarette:
There are so many mixed reactions to this video, with some people helping him out and lighting the cigarette, the majority being smokers themselves but also smokers that are totally against and even mad that the 10 year old boy would be lighting up, despite it being pretty hypocritical.
The attitudes of the general public from this video are crazily mixed or possibly just totally in denial, as so many bypassers saw the young boy struggle to light up with a cigarette in his mouth, clearly looking shocked to see someone so young smoking but carried on anyway, without trying to talk to the child and encourage a healthier choice.
The take home message from this video is the heart breaking moment the man who had suffered from cancer and suffered by watching his family fall ill also, taking the time to talk to the young boy about the risks and most importantly the very real health and life destroying consequences from smoking.
What would you do if he asked you for a light? Would you help him, ignore him or try to guide him to avoid the dangers of smoking, especially whilst he’s so young. Maybe if we all opted for the latter choice, the teen smoking statistics wouldn’t be so scary!
