Lest you accuse me of sensationalism, that title is very true! I came across an article on SIFY News detailing how two brothers under 10 years old became cigar addicts:
A four-year-old boy is being treated in a Taiwanese rehab for his addiction to cigars. The boy and his brothers, also below 10 years, were taken to the Taiwanese rehab centre after their dad caught them stealing his tobacco.
When asked about their addiction, the boys said that they did it because they thought their father looked “cool” when he smoked.
“The answer was what I had expected, but the hardest to accept,†the Daily Telegraph quoted the father, as telling China Times.The four-year-old also admitted to borrowing cigarettes from school pals when he failed to steal any from his father.
Meanwhile, Dr Xue Guangjie from Gaoxiong city rehab centre criticised the dad for failing to kick the habit as he himself came to only two sessions.
I don’t know how to react to this! Cigars are my thing but they certainly are not for children. Who is to blame? Should we even be pointing fingers? I suppose if we do, it is the father who should shoulder the responsibility here. There is nothing to do now but to help those children, which the city rehab center seems to be doing.
The moral of the story? We should be careful with regard to our smoking habits. We know the pleasure that cigars (and cigarettes, for that matter) bring. Yet if we are parents, or we have kids that look up to us, it is also our responsibility to NOT encourage them to do the same. No matter how we look at it, there are health issues that exist.