LETTERS: A FEW weeks ago, I was watching a TED talk by a public health expert on the current coronavirus pandemic.
She analysed various reasons for this outbreak and offered her professional advice on staying safe from the virus.
The most important point she emphasised was the importance of giving up the smoking habit immediately.
In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, it is important to point out that smoking is one of the chief enemies of our respiratory system.
Victims of passive smoking are also affected. I suffer temporary breathing difficulty whenever someone near me smokes.
The feeling gets worse when I enter an enclosed facility like washrooms if someone has just smoked there.
Given the critical phase of the coronavirus pandemic that we are facing now, I urge the government to impose a comprehensive ban on smoking with immediate effect.
Such a bold action will benefit the country and its people in terms of economy, public health and morality.
DR MD MAHMUDUL HASAN
Department of English Language and Literature International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times