What’s the deal with smoking in parks – is it allowed? As far as I know it is banned in exercise areas and I would think that include the running tracks in reservoirs.
While I detest smoke – and tobacco companies most of all – I do recognise that individuals have the freedom to pay these companies to imbibe a slow death by cancer – or emphysema – if they so wish.
As long as they don’t force their second hand carcinogens into anyone else’s lungs.
I go running twice a week around the Bedok Reservoir running track, and there is nothing worse than finishing a 10k run gasping for air, and then finding a smoker lounging on the park bench nearby – the vile stench of cigarette smoke fouling the crisp evening air.
What is it about sucking on cancer sticks that is so cool? How do tobacco companies still manage to get away with making money of such a pernicious product? Singapore is quite tough on smokers and apparently only 13.6% of people resident in Singaporeans smoke, but perhaps more could be done to stub it out. (According to a 26th January 2010 report on the South East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance website, 6.7million cigarettes were sold in Singapore every day of 2009. That’s 2.44 billion cigarettes for the year – which means smokers in Singapore paid about $2.93 billion in 2009 to keep the nicotine – and carcinogens – chugging through their veins.)
For a start, it would be good to ban smoking in all parks – not just the exercise areas. I have nothing against smokers coming to the park to enjoy the evening, but parks are for people to come and get away from pollution, breathe fresh air, re-energise themselves and all in all get more healthy in mind, body and spirit. Having to encounter cigarette smoke in such an environment is extremely unpleasant.
Cursed with an insatiable curiousity for the world around him and an unquenchable thirst for exploring any horizon he finds himself looking at, Fredric fervently hopes that being a commonsensical Jack of all Trades is still a useful survival skill in a world that is incredibly specialized. He may be found online hopelessly plugged into Wikipedia or Google Earth, and in life usually astride a Suzuki Vstrom headed to yet another godforsaken corner of Southeast Asia .