Smokers have long been the favorite whipping boys of the Indian government. Lately, thanks to the media and a few self-righteous individuals/groups, the anti-tobacco campaign has spread to the Junta at large. Not altogether without reason too. Smoking is anything but healthy. And often its a nuisance that leads to'passive' health hazards as also the risk of influencing others to take up the habit. But then the smoker pays for his'sins', doesnt he? In fact he pays much more than he is guilty of. He pays for a big chunk of our wasteful national expenditure. And he pays for sins he does not commit.
Kisi dhumrapaan karne waale vyakti ke fefdon se nikla ek cup tar agar kisi ko bhi beemar, bahut beemar banane ke liye kaafi hai to koi mujhe yeh bataye ki car se nikla hua ek baalti taar aur truck se nikla hua ek tub tar kitne vyaktiyon ko beemar. nahin.bahut beemar banane ke liye kaafi hai?
Our'sircar'/regulators keep bombarding us with propagandist ADs like these, issued in public interest in the name of statutory warnings and we keep lapping it up, ignoring issues which are far more fatal for our health - pollutants offloaded by four wheelers and the non-degradable toxic waste by our factories, to name a few. So if a smoker is called upon to pay 60% more tax, shouldnt the carwalla be paying 600% more and the truckwalla 3600% more?
The other frequently cited argument against smoking is based on the generalisation of character. Smokers are corrupt. Smokers are lascivious. Smokers are immoral. same argument is tendered against meat eaters and people who have penchant for Bacchanalia. Well again such sweeping generalisations seldom help in case of people but if I were to resort to them, in my limited experience, most of the "best guys" I have come across are smokers/drinkers/meat eaters while most of the mean/stubborn ones are vegetarians/non-smokers/teetotallers. One of my neighbours, a hard-core veggie and the most devout Theist around, shrinks back in disgust everytime he watches me climb up the stairs swinging my weekly quota of mutton in a black polybag(oh, why do they always have to use a black colored polybag? It only aggravates the disgust:-P). In the beginning this got me worried, even ashamed. But now I have started seeing the advantages - I need only keep a plate of mutton around me to keep him at bay!
But the guy isnt deterred so easily. He's out to reform me. He'll meet me again next morning with a wide grin - wishing me "Ram Ram". At the outset, I used to reply back with "Ram Ram"(thats what civility demands - replying in the same lingo, isnt it?) but soon I realised this was a ploy to bring me to the "religious fold". So now I take care to reply back with "Good Morning" instead. In fact sometimes I go a step further and wish him "Good Morning" from my side, just to see if I can convert him to "the Dark Side":-P Enough of the digression. Point I'm trying to make is - fooding, smoking, drinking, etc are all very personal choices and one's gotta respect the other's choice. A holier-than-thou attitude seldom helps. And victimisation never does.
Despite the cruelty and appalling frivolity of the Indian Taxation system, its great to see smokers continuing to smoke. Continuing to be the beasts of burden of an entire mega economy, continuing to bleed and yet continuing to smart at one and all. Reminds me of one of my all time favorite songs -'Harry Rag' by the Kinks - "Bless you Taxmen, bless you all. You may take some, but you never take it all. But if I give it all, I wont feel sad, as long as I've enough to buy a Harry Rag".
I wish they keep up the spirit. But no, wait a minute. On second thoughts, I wish, they'd quit. Maybe not forever but just for a few months. Barely long enough to let everyone witness an economy collapse just because there were no cigarettes sold!
Disclaimer - I am NOT a smoker though I have smoked a "few" cigarettes/bidis in my time:-P
