She was sacrificing food for cigarettes to feed habit
Ms Chrystine Wong's first cigarette was given to her when she was 14 or 15 years old. From smoking socially, she established a regular habit by 16. Photo: Nuria Ling
SINGAPORE — Her first cigarette was given to her when she was 14 or 15 years old. From smoking socially, Ms Chrystine Wong established a regular habit by 16.
She smoked two to three sticks a day, and would get her friends to buy the cigarettes — which was “the only way to get them” — or share a pack with them.
Asked how she funded her habit, Ms Wong, 23, who quit about two years ago, said: “I would save the whole week. I was sacrificing food for cigarettes.”
Teenagers in Singapore worry about issues such as grades and tuition, and smoking was a way for her to focus, she said.
When she was 17 or 18, Ms Wong decided that she “didn’t want to do it anymore”.
Despite not being a heavy smoker, she took about three years to kick the habit altogether.
“Anytime you feel restless or stressed or see others smoking, you want to do it,” she explained.
A key motivation for her to quit was body image — she wanted to exercise to shed some weight and knew smoking would affect her stamina.
Her experience influenced her choice of course in polytechnic, where she is now a second-year health promotion and management student.
Initially applying to do visual merchandising, she had a change of heart.
“If I could help someone else in their health journey, I wanted to do it,” said Ms Wong, who also works part time as a floor trainer in a gym.
The Government’s move to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 is a “good thing”.
While it may not stop determined underaged smokers from getting their hands on cigarettes, Ms Wong said, it would give them greater pause.
Her message for youngsters? Decide for themselves by making a list. “Then they will see there are more cons than pros (to smoking),” she said.
NEO CHAI CHIN
