Cigarette smoking is something where people with poor self-control constantly harm themselves for the sake of a habit they're fond of. The act of a person hurting themselves cannot be defended as a right. When you attack someone's right to not be harmed -- that is to say, when you smother people in smoke -- your most basic rights should be suspended, just like those of the Ergenekon members being held at Silivri Prison.There's no difference between saying that the acts committed by Ergenekon were for the good of the state and the people and listing the benefits of cigarettes. Both are harmful, very harmful.
Smoking is not freedom and smoking is not a right. There can be no rights and freedoms that endanger the health of others. For this reason, the nostalgic “good old days” objections of cigarette addicts to the “smoke-free air” laws should be laughed at and ignored. And the complaints of those running the industry that will be harmed by this legislation shouldn't even be acknowledged. We do not have the luxury to be sorry for those who profit from the poison trade.
Yesterday was a historic day in which Turkey entered the ranks of advanced, civilized nations. You no longer have to depend on your own strength of character to stop those who force people around them to breathe in cigarette smoke because of their nicotine addiction. There's now a law, and all you have to do is request that people observe it. Along with preventing individuals from infringing upon the basic rights of others, this law will help to civilize this society. When everyone committed the same crime, the crime ceased to be a crime. But this is no longer the case. There are now civilized standards by which cigarette smokers must abide, enforced by law.
A society that has long been suffocated by cigarette smoke is finally being freed. It's akin to the freeing of a society unable to exhibit any of its talents under the military tutelage, imprisoned by a machine that's harmful to the intellect. The crises in Turkey's military-civilian relations are the forerunners of a freer and more diverse society -- just as the ban which began yesterday is the start of a healthier and more civilized society.
I spent a good deal of my life as a cigarette addict. When I was a smoker, I thought that it would be impossible for me to live without my cigarettes. After gritting my teeth for a week and kicking the habit, I understood that the biggest mistake I had been making throughout my life had been smoking. Smoking doesn't just poison our bodies, but also our relations with other people and our perspectives on life. An action that involves knowingly harming others blinds our feelings of empathy and turns disregard for other people into a personality trait.
The prohibition that began yesterday brings the most benefits to cigarette addicts, because it bridles their tendency to commit a crime. You do not die when you do not smoke cigarettes, you just postpone a bit of enjoyment. That's the secret of being able to go without cigarettes when on a long journey or while fasting. This law will mandate the putting off of engaging in this bit of recreation and in this way will decrease cigarette consumption.
Cigarette addiction means that endorphins, also known as the “happiness hormones,” that the body naturally secretes are only able to be triggered with the aid of nicotine. One week of patience is enough to return this endorphin secretion to its natural balance. The smoking ban that began yesterday is also a means to kick the habit. In order to avoid treatment as a second-class citizen, abstention from smoking is required.
This could be a good opportunity to try to see cigarettes in the same light as Ergenekon's weapons, and to get rid of them for good.
