‘It is your choice to smoke or not’
Review spoke to residents in the city to hear how they perceive warning signs on local tobacco packaging
POLOKWANE – With the dangers of tobacco smoke now common knowledge, governments and health organisations worldwide are increasingly keen to promote stricter legislation to help people to stop and not even consider taking up the habit in the first instance.
This legislation usually goes hand in hand with costly marketing campaigns to convey warnings on the dangers of smoking in all types of media, including on tobacco products.
At present it is believed South Africa’s warning signs on tobacco brands are quite pale in comparison to other countries, which display far more graphic warning signs on their tobacco products.
Review spoke to residents in the city to hear how they perceive warning signs on local tobacco packaging.
“For me it is people’s own choice whether they want to take up smoking. I say, every tease might relate to peace, but that peace can turn into a disease as smoking can cause or contribute to various cancers.
“It is never too late to quit, I suppose”, says Lawrence Bye while peacefully puffing away on a cigarette.
Stephina Malatji, who suffers from sensitive lungs and cannot bear to sit nearby a smokers’ circle, says it is not an addiction, but rather a choice people make to partake in this bad habit. She is convinced it is all in the mind.
“It’s your mind telling you to smoke. It is the same when people say they can’t live without going on a diet, even if the results do not show,” she explains.
Joe Sebushi says he would like to quit smoking all together after being a smoker for the past 10 years or so. “I smoke loose draws to try and smoke less – if you want to quit rather try to start by smoking less than usual and then take it from there. I hope this will work for me.
“The packaging of tobacco brands should be more graphic to more visibly state that smoking can kill. Even perhaps include the death tolls related to smoking worldwide,” he concludes.
“To be frank, the warning signs on tobacco packaging is good enough. The problem with us as spoilt human beings is that we just want stuff the whole time without thinking of the consequences. It is the same with tobacco smoking,” states Gabriel Nedy.
“People know smoking is not good for them but they choose to inhale anyway. If the message on the packaging is clear enough to inform me that the use if this product can cause me to die I would be hesitant to use it. But it is up to every individual to choose whether they want to smoke, or not,” he says.
