i ‘nak’ because i can sue

some of you regular readers will know that i’m anti-smoking, and of course i was very overjoyed whenever i learn of smoking bans imposed here and there by our gomen, or some anti-smoking campaign e.g. the ‘tak nak’ campaign started by the gomen.

well, yesterday, read in the new straits times that soon in 2 months time, smokers can sue the tobacco companies for ailments caused by the companies. i should be happy, right? wrong!

why? it looks to me that this silly decision from the cabinet will only serve to encourage more people to smoke. why? well, the smokers will feel…. “what the heck if i fall sick because of my smoking, i can sue the tobacco company, so no worries.”

do you know beside cancer of the lungs , smokers are also vulnerable to cancers of the larynx, oesophagus, stomach, bladder, pancreas, cervix, colon and rectum, and other diseases like heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension.

now that smokers can sue the tobacco companies if they happened to be inflicted with any of those above cigarettes causing ailments, they would be very happy indeed! so all the more they don’t mind smoking. so all the more, more teens will say ‘nak’ instead of ‘tak nak’ and take up smoking.

well i guess this is part of the law of the ‘international framework for tobacco control’ which had been enforced by some countries already, but still it is something i disagree on. the other parts though where the tobacco companies have to:

• List all the ingredients of their products, including the toxic constituents and additives;
• Ensure health warnings cover at least half of the cigarette packet with a graphic illustration of the hazards of smoking, such as cancerous lungs or blood oozing from the brains of stroke victims;
• Stop describing their products as “low tar”, “light” or “mild”, as these terms are considered misleading;
• Restrict the use of direct or indirect incentives encouraging the purchase of tobacco products;
• Address the illicit trade in tobacco products by marking the origin and destination of the product on every pack to monitor its movement; and,
• Refrain from using their brand name in any sponsorship or promotion programme.

i fully support… but not the part where smokers can sue the tobacco companies. doesn’t sounds right to me.

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OT talk: when you click on my archives link (e.g. the 2 links here), though you see nothing under comments (jogging of minds), there ARE comments there. haloscan comments works this way – no. count of comments will now show after some period, though the comments are still there.
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