ipe which they themselves are smoking. At wedding ceremonies, brides would offer cigarettes to all guests who came to eXpress their congratulations and light the cigarettes for.each of them one after another.

All these were originally aimed.. at displaying the Chinese hospitality and respect towards the guests. But in recent years, the oId tradition has been used as a means to nurse good relations.

Even those who never smoke have brand-name cigarettes in their pockets. Whenever they have to seek somebody's favour, they first offer him a cigarette, If the other party turns it down, he is being impolite. If he accepts it he has to do something, for courtesy demands a favour in return.

Tobacco contains harmful substances. So offering cigarettes to somebody is equal to doing harm to him, gut neither people who offer cigarettes nor those who take them fully realize it.

It is even more unhealthy for the host to pass the long-stemmed Chinese pipe or water pipe to the visitor after smoking it beforehand.

Once I paid a visit to a relative who had just returned from abroad. He was smoking but did not produce one for me. Instead, he placed the cigarette packet on the table and told me: "Cigarettes produce carbon monoxide and nicotine. But if you don't mind this, take it yourself.?

His way of offering cigarettes was unique but worth learning.

Many people throughout the world are attempting to quit smoking. But to give up the practice, firstly I think, we had better cl7ange the tradetional method of entertaining guests.

Not to offer cigarettes does not mean one is inhospitable. The cigarette packet is on the table. If you cannot check your craving for one at the risk of your health, you may. But you will have to bear the consequences

yourself.

You had better also bear in mind that while you are smoking and harming yourself, you are also polluting the air and hurting others.

7. Smoking Is a Bad Habit

Smoking is a bad habit. Firstly, it ruins people's health. Health experts have warned us for years that smoking can lead to heart disease, lung cancer and various respiratory ailments. The World Health Organization says diseases linked to smoking kill at least 2, 500, 000 people each year. Research conducted in many countries also indicates that pregnant women who smoke run the risk of having deformed babies. Besides, it has been proven beyond doubt that when a person smokes, he subjects the people around him not only to great discomfort but also to physical harm.

Secondly, smoking is extravagant. Smokers, either wage-earners or those who live off their parents, spend a large sum of money on cigarettes, which cost them at least 10% of their expenses each month. What's more, sensible women try to avoid marrying heavy smokers, even though some of them appreciate the image of a handsome young man with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. A friend of mine, a heavy smoker, has been seeking an ideal wife who will tolerate his extravagant "hobby? but up to now he hasn't found one.

Thirdly, smoking has a bad impact on the psyche of the smokers. After realizing the bad effects of smoking, many people try to give up smoking. but no matter how hard they try ,some of them just can't resist the temptation to smoke again. Gradually, they lose confidence in themselves and get used to making excuses.

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