Singapore Blazes Trail in Anti-Smoking Drive
According to this article, by August 2004, Singapore will be the first country in Asia to show graphic pictures that warn smokers about the health risks they are taking. The new law requires that cigarette packets will have to have up to 50 percent of its front and back cover showing any one of six pictures that the Singapore Government has chosen to appear on a rotational basis. In 1971 Singapore was the first country in Asia to ban tobacco advertisements.
According to the article, an estimated 14 percent of Singapore's 4.1 million population smoke, with males leading the trend. Now "the smoking rate in females aged 18-24 years has increased from 2.8 percent in 1992 to 8 percent in 2001."
The author points to Cambodia to illustrate an Asian country where there is no "complete ban" on cigarette advertising and advertisement content and design are not regulated. "Of Cambodia's population of 13.5 million people, close to 60 percent or two-thirds of the rural men smoke."
According to the author, "Tobacco transnational companies such as British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco, have taken advantage of the differential legislative requirements in the ASEAN (Association of South-east Asian Nations) region and as a result consumers have lost out on being adequately warned."
In other countries in Asia, the Malaysian Health Minister Chua Jui Meng was quoted in the state-run Bernama news agency as saying that people will soon have the power to "sue the tobacco industry for ailments caused by tobacco products." Kuala Lumpur plans to make it compulsory to have cigarette packets run graphic warnings on their outer covers.
Thailand has banned cigarette advertising and is waiting on plans for pictorial warnings to be approved by the Minister of Public Health. Pictorial warnings reach people who are illiterate and as the President of the Institute for Thai Health Promotion states... "they say that a picture is worth more than a thousand words."
According to the World Health Organization, "there are some 4.9 million tobacco-related deaths every year, the WHO states, adding further that ''no other consumer product is as dangerous, or kills as many people." "Currently, there are an estimated 1.1 billion smokers around the world."
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Hi this is David and Yeda in Ireland this is an essay that might give you some inspiration about the philosophical meanings of the lord of the rings if you like the story you will love this
+++ONE RING TO KEEP THEM IN THE DARK++++
Smoking a self-destructive habit, which started at some point in time in the Americas it just seems crazy when you think about it philosophically its an act violence on the self body & sole masochism to use the correct phrase it’s the hole in the bucket of your sole. Anybody who has given up will now how hard it is but how better you feel .I can only compare it to breaking free from a prisoner of war camp other smokers are the guards and all around. So to stay on top you keep fit which is a normal thing in its self
Smoking has nothing to offer society I and a lot of people believe it has a very bad effect on the collective consciousness and is a corner stone of the problems of the world effecting the perceptions of people themselves its like a black hole for spirit a destroyer or vacuum of loves energy the Holy Spirit it keeps us humanity from attaining holiness 100%spiritual awareness
The method I used to stop a pilgrimage the Camino Santiago de Compostela in Spain it took 36 days in total from the Pyrenees to Finisterra where you burn a set of clothes at the end over looking the Atlantic. It’s a very powerful thing to do psychologically & spiritually the death of the old and start of the new. As for smoking I now have a massive immunity against them a buffer zone. But it’s not just the burning of a set of clothes the whole pilgrimage you are becoming more aware spiritually awoken other pilgrims may smoke but the tone is always down around where they are. With giving up smoking you have to break many psychological links like the link with food alcohol its like cutting out badges out of your physique your ego out of your fore conscience. Smoking keeps you from harmonising with your true spiritual self your inner child when your in harmony with yourself your dreams don’t seem so alien and you can decode them more easily. The Camino is a spiritual thing Camino means way and ultimately you find a truer way a better course and leave a lot of chains behind the only thing is its hard coming back into the horrible reality that exists in the world now .I personally believe two major things keep the world this way commercial separation separate commercial identities in competition with each other in other words inharmonious systems and the other is lack of respect for life not enough love and people in the dark with the bad systems being part of the problem not part of the solution a taker rather than a giver a world of givers is better than a world takers a simple philosophy.
I had a thought on the pilgrimage for the possible reason smoking started, something like that just doesn’t just happen for no reason. Smoking causes a spiritual vacuum. So possibly people like Columbus and others felt a draw over the ocean. The shamans of the Americas smoked because they thought it brought them closer to god. Well the Europeans who came over who had something the thing that made Europe great the Gospel. I also have a theory why smoking was allowed to continue even grow it was sort of like a blinker for the hole of humanity so the day when it cessed worldwide would be the day when humanity fully awoke.
Some countries have taken positive steps but the best way to deal with it is to treat it for what it is an illness a spiritual illness banning smoking from the work place & all public places is good but it does not stop it .It has to stop growing so dependent smokers should get a state card and only with this card can you buy cigarettes or you have to get a prescription for them after doing a medical until you attempt or the cut off point for a national or international effort to stop all at once stopping all production and distribution limiting sale to pharmacies. All the financial gain made from selling cigarettes should go back into structured government EU &international plans for getting people well if everybody gave up at the same time It would make so much easer This would have to be planned but there is no reason this can’t happen before Halloween or all saints day by the least? Doctors could prescribe pilgrimages something like the Camino a spiritual journey say on the Wicklow Leister way, which starts in Marley Park.
Health groups could provide a structure along the way accommodation food medical care ect they could study the Camino Santiago de Compostela in Spain that pilgrimage is about 1500 years old its symbol is the escallop shell. It depends on how dynamic the government or governments are. First the extra tax on the smokes would help doubling the price to really get the message home
Groups would see injustice and their power to change popular culture would come more into the light Our media would reflect the change from a bad news to good news Terror Terrorism would be a thing of the past and loose its grip love would prevail people would rise above the past hate fear anger all the things of the past Perfect systems would come into place
Rubbish would be a thing of the past. The EU would become the UE united earth or union of earth all pockets of hell on Earth would be removed the military would become a disaster reaction force the gun would be retired violence would end
People of different nationalities &cultures would not be looked at in a fearful way .the wealth gap would harmonise International Treaties could be passed like the formation of a new international Language a mixture of Chinese English Spanish Indian Islamic and African languages. To help bring the world together everybody in the world could communicate to each other you would then only need two languages your native language &the international one.
The pillars of our new world order would be Liberty & Responsibility. New trading methods could be put in place one where there is no inflation. Say a kilo of rice is one Earth credit or a kilo of wheat all separate commercial identities would merge into national services, food service, health services manufacturing services each nation would have a quota for trade 50% produce for home consumption 50% for export
How we can start is by sending this message to as many people as you can to Governments to translate it into the languages of the various countries this will reach the media public fingers the consciousness collective the world has the perfect medium in the internet just send it to everyone in your mail box photocopy it and give it to people we will all be part of this could reach a million people before next month its up to You
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