Tobacco: The Issue Of Smoking In University
Tobacco is a plant originated from America which has spread around the world that almost killed more than 8 million people a year. Tobacco leaves contain high nicotine levels that will cause addiction to people. It can be made for cigarettes, gums or sniff tobacco which will slowly affect human brain, lead to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, heart disease, stroke, and emphysema (NIDA, 2020). Meanwhile, second-hand smoker normally will happens at restaurants, offices or enclosed areas when people starts to smoke. This will also leads to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. Hence, everyone should takes some actions in order to breathe tobacco-smoke-free-air.
There are many ways to completely stop smokers from smoking in UCSI but firstly smokers itself are the starting point. Smokers should take some initiatives in order to quit smoking as no one can change them if they don’t have the heart to change themselves first. Smokers can start to think of the triggers (Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, 2016). For example, find out the times when you feel to smoke such as during break time, after meals or other else. If you think you will smoke after meals, try to go for a walk or go to the library to finish up your homework or assignment with friends. Therefore, you won’t think of smoking at the same time your time will be more meaningful. In consequence, you slowly start to quit smoking and you won’t be smoking in school.
Furthermore, school authorities can also provide tobacco prevention education based programs for the students, teachers and staffs in order to educate them to stop smoking especially in school because this will bring bad influences to surrounding people (sheet, n.d.). The programs should extensively emphasize all the impacts or effects of tobacco use in the short and long term such as serious health effects and negative social consequences that will most likely happen afterwards. School authorities can involve parents or families in the programs too because they can keep an eye on their children or family members from being a smoker and help them to quit smoking. Hence, it can stop smokers from smoking in school as they have start to quit smoking.
Apart from that, in order to completely stop smokers from smoking in UCSI, school authorities should have bans the smoking area in school. School should stop providing smoking areas for smokers so that there is no place and reason for them to smoke in school. At the same, it will slowly make them to quit smoking. School authorities can also instruct people or security guards to patrol the school especially during the break time and lunch time because that is the time when smokers will go for smoking. Therefore, the smokers will aware that they are strictly stop from smoking in the school compounds.
School authorities can set some new rules so as to stop smokers from smoking in school too. Rules such as prohibit from smoking in school compounds and restrict of tobacco use in school. As a result, smokers are not allowed to smoke in school and able to completely stop smokers from smoking when they are in the school compounds. If there is anyone who break the rules, therefore punishment will be given to them. For instance, help to clean the school compounds, do some social works for the school or penalty of RM1000. So that it can stop smokers from smoking in the school. School authorities can also instruct the school security guards to check whether the visitors are bringing cigarette or tobacco products before entering the school. Therefore, no one is able to smoke in the school compounds.
In conclusion, everyone should take up their responsibilities to make UCSI University a tobacco-free campus as we don’t wish to see the number of smokers are increasing year by year in our country. Hence, let’s start from the campus first because clean air is really important to our human health. Even though, smoking is difficult to quit once addicted but people should think of the consequences. We should not let smoking be a part of our life as it will destroy and kill us. Therefore, people should increase the awareness that tobacco has brought negative impact to our health and life.
