The Silent Killer in Our Villages – How Tobacco Destroys Lives Without Consent
Children and families suffer from secondhand smoke exposure even if they never light a cigarette
Fair Future Fights Tobacco to Protect Children and Pregnant Women from Deadly Passive Smoke
In the very remote areas where Fair Future and Kawan Baik work, tobacco is often seen as harmless or even beneficial. Many think it helps with digestion, reduces stress, or is a medicinal remedy. However, this belief is dangerously misleading. Smoking does not heal; it harms.
It shortens lives, limits opportunities for the future, and affects those who never chose to breathe in its harmful smoke. It’s time to change this mindset.
That’s why we’re kicking off four new campaigns in January 2025, with the first focused on combating tobacco use and highlighting the lethal effects of secondhand smoke, particularly on children and pregnant women.
In villages where healthcare is limited, and medicine is barely accessible, smoking transcends being just a habit—it becomes a ticking time bomb. Each cigarette deteriorates the body, damages the lungs, hardens arteries, and harms the heart.
It offers no relief but instead leads directly to diseases such as cancer, stroke, lung infections, impotence, and infertility. However, the most unsettling truth is that smokers aren’t the only ones affected.
Children and families suffer from secondhand smoke exposure even if they never light a cigarette
Passive Smoke Kills Those Who Never Chose to Smoke
Tobacco smoke persists rather than dissipates in households, educational institutions, and offices. It remains suspended in the air, clings to clothing and walls, infiltrating every common area (National Library of Medicine). Children are involuntarily exposed to it as they breathe, harming their developing lungs and heightening the likelihood of enduring respiratory illnesses throughout their lives (National Library of Medicine).
Pregnant women inadvertently transfer toxins to their unborn children, raising the chances of miscarriages, congenital disabilities, and preterm births.
This quiet danger infiltrates families, transforming homes into perilous spaces. Annually, 1.2 million non-smokers lose their lives to secondhand smoke—victims of choices they didn’t make themselves.
For the Fair Future teams (and others, of course), the real tragedy is that these risks go unnoticed, neglected or ignored, putting entire communities at risk. Despite our warnings, those of our health professionals and the “Elders” of the villages, such as the Kawan Sehat Health workers we train, their warnings often fall on deaf ears. As a result, countless innocent lives suffer the immediate and long-term consequences of exposure to tobacco. Starting with all those who have rightly chosen not to smoke to stay healthy.
This isn’t merely a matter of personal choice; it’s about responsibility.
If you smoke, consider the impact it has on those around you. If you’re a non-smoker, take steps to promote smoke-free environments in homes, schools, and workplaces within your community.
Children and families suffer from secondhand smoke exposure even if they never light a cigarette
Tobacco Destroys Lives Without Asking for Consent
In numerous schools, teachers unknowingly expose students to harmful chemicals by smoking cigarettes in their presence, potentially causing lifelong damage. Infants are exposed to nicotine even before they begin walking. Women who already encounter significant social and economic challenges face heightened risks of miscarriage and premature birth due to smoke-filled environments.
A cigarette is more than a personal choice—it creates a toxic cloud that endangers entire families, threatening their health and survival. However, smokers seldom accept responsibility. They often justify their actions by saying: “It’s my body, and the choice is mine.”
However, what about the children who develop asthma before they even comprehend what tobacco is? What about the non-smokers who endure strokes, heart attacks (so-called myocardial infarction) and lung disease just because they share a home, classroom, or workplace with a smoker?
To draw from the wisdom of the ancient physician Hippocrates, “Primum non nocere“ or “First, do no harm” it becomes evident that personal liberties are intertwined with ethical considerations towards others’ well-being. By reaffirming their individual autonomy, smokers might inadvertently breach this fundamental principle, thereby neglecting the communal aspect of health.
A choice that causes harm to others is not a right; it constitutes an act of abuse.
Numerous studies have consistently shown that smoking significantly reduces life expectancy by at least a decade. To combat this, cities and governments worldwide have enacted strict smoking bans in public areas, workplaces, and homes, preserving millions of lives.
Even teachers smoke in class, some in front of children who find it normal… Dramatic!
Fair Future and Kawan Baik Are at the Forefront of Combating Tobacco
At Fair Future and Kawan Baik, we are addressing this challenge head-on in communities most at risk through our Primary Medical Care program and the dedicated efforts of Kawan Sehat health workers.
Beginning in March 2025, we will:
- Develop educational programs in schools to inform children about the hazards of tobacco use.
- Encourage families to establish smoke-free environments in their homes.
- Work together with village leaders to encourage healthier environments.
Our mission is clear: No child, no pregnant woman, and no innocent life should be compelled to inhale harmful substances.
We aim to uncover the harsh realities of tobacco—its contribution to suffering, disease, and death—and empower women, teachers, and health workers to combat this invisible threat.
Tobacco does not cure. It does not protect. It does not empower: It destroys.
It’s time to speak up. Let’s take action now : We encourage schools, families, and community leaders to participate in this campaign. By joining forces, we have the power to transform lives.
Today, January the 28th, 2025 – Alex Wettstein
Trusted External Sources
List of Related Organizations
- World Health Organization – WHO leads global efforts to reduce tobacco use and prevent secondhand smoke exposure.
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – Advocating for policies that protect children from the dangers of tobacco.
- Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) – A global organization working to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco use.
- Global Alliance for Tobacco Control – Supporting tobacco-free policies worldwide to safeguard public health.
- The Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease – Focusing on lung health and reducing smoking-related illnesses.
