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Imagine yourself in your home in South Africa. It is a quiet moment, as you relax in front of the TV, or maybe you are in your garden enjoying the sunshine. Birds are singing in the trees, the sky is blue, you have earned a well-deserved time off and you feel good.
All of a sudden, you are ambushed. Two heroin addicts have broken into your home and are pinning you down. You cannot move. One is preparing a hypodermic needle. You instinctively know it has heroin in it and you want to scream "No!" but you are held down and silenced and there is nothing you can do but watch as the needle sinks into your vein and you feel the drug in your blood, along with whatever impurities were added to it. The heroin addicts saunter away, smirking at you, for even trying to stop this assault.
The next day, your body goes through a terrible reaction to the after-effects of this toxic injection. You become ill and have to take time off work. And just as you thought it was safe, the heroin addicts break into your home, one pins you down, and the other is holding a syringe and smirking at you. You know what is going to happen next and you are powerless to stop it...
Imagine this happening every day in your own home. Imagine that you now have to keep all your windows closed at all times, keep your eye on the lock, and be careful all the time. And then, when you think you are safe to go out to work or the shops, all of a sudden, you are ambushed again. You recognize the heroin addicts. Only this time there are four of them, you see the needle, you see them smirking at you, and you feel sick to your stomach knowing what is about to happen to you...
It is really awful, is it not? But if you are a smoker smoking illegally, then you are that addict. You are forcing your neighbour to take a drug that they choose not to take. You are forcing them to take this drug into their bloodstream whether they like it or not. If your workplace is near someone's home and you force them to smoke when you do, you are just like those heroin-injecting thugs in this story. It is one thing being an addict, and of course, the addiction is just that - something one cannot help. However, the law is now here to stop you from forcing innocent people to take your drug in their bloodstream.
Not convinced? Here are some facts that you may be interested in...
The owner of a workplace, including pub, bar, restaurant, beauty salon, hairdresser, or any other workplace can be fined up to R50,000 if their premises breach the smoking laws.
Not only can the owner of this establishment be fined, but you personally can be fined R500 for smoking in a non-smoking zone.
Non-smoking zones include partially enclosed public places such as covered patios (such as by a roof or awnings), verandas, balconies, walkways, lifts, and parking areas.You can face up to your addiction and do something about it. Quitting may be much easier than you think.
Everyone should have the right to choose and the right to freedom. Nobody is taking away a smoker's addiction. That is a smoker's right. It was my right too when I was a smoker, and I know from experience how I just could not cope without nicotine. I would not suggest taking away an addict's drug; that is their choice, and that choice must be respected. I have been there myself. However, now it is now law that smokers must not take their drug in forms that are harmful to others in public places. And that also must be respected.
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