“Smoking is a Bad Habit”

Smoking of tobacco or tobacco products in any form is generally known as smoking. It has become fashion these days. The people young and old take pleasure in emitting clouds of smoke out of their mouths. Smoking is a bad habit. It is injurious to health.

Smoking can be done in two ways. Smoking of hooka or Hubble bubble was in vogue in olden days. In villages we could commonly see people gathering round a hooka and taking puffs by turns. Such scenes are becoming uncommon now. In hooka smoking the tobacco smoke was filtered through water. Now smoking of cigarettes, cigar, bidis or pipe is taking its place. This type of smoking is even more harmful, because unfiltered smoke goes direct to lungs. Smoking of cigarettes or bidis is becoming more popular these days.

In ancient India tobacco was an unknown thing. This plant was not cultivated in our country. Tobacco plant was brought to India from foreign lands. During the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir an Englishman (Thomas Roe) who had come to seek trade relations with out country presented tobacco to Emperor Jahangir. He had brought some seeds of tobacco plant with him. From that time onwards smoking of hubble-bubble (hooka) became a matter of prestige the common people especially in villages. In due course of time it became a common habit and a grave social evil in India.

Tobacco contains nicotine which is a slow poison. It is harmful for the human body. Smoke goes directly to the lungs and harms them. It leads to many harmful diseases of the lungs and the respiratory system like asthma, tuberculosis or lung cancer. It harms the throat and cause cancer of the throat which is very common disease among the smokers.

Nowadays chewing of tobacco, Gutkha, Chtki, Pan Masala is becoming popular among young boys. Its use is also very common among the laboring classes because it is cheaper. Chewing of tobacco and tobacco products is all the more harmful. It is even more harmful than smoking. The poison direct to one’s mouth and throat. It causes cancer of the mouth or throat.

Even the government has come to realize the harmful effects of smoking. That is the reason why it has made it obligatory for the cigarette manufactures the written of statutory warning on each packet of cigarettes. ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ is written on each packet of cigarettes. It is pity that the people don’t’ care and do not abstain from smoking even after reading this warning. Smoking is a bad habit. It should be banned by the government.

It was Guru Gobind Singh the tenth Sikh Guru who spoke against the use of tobacco. He made it a religious tenet for the followers of his religion not even to touch tobacco. Smoking is prohibited in Sikhism. This wise step of the great Guru saved the Sikh community from the evil results of smoking.

Moral

The smoking is harmful for health. It is a bad habit. It spoils both the health as well as the money. Avoid this evil and help others to keep away from it. If someone in your family is a smoker, convince him and prevail upon him to give up this bad habit.