Good morning to the respected chairperson, distinguished guests, honorable judges,

my fellow compatriots, ladies and gentlemen. I am indeed very fortunate to be given

this opportunity to speak on a topic that is very common yet it is taken lightly which
is Smoking – Confessions of a smoker.
John is a smoker and has been for the past forty-five years. A smoker is someone
who smokes tobacco regularly. What is smoking? Well, smoking is breathing smokes
into the mouth or lungs from burning tobacco, such as cigarettes.
John started smoking when he was seventeen. He was still schooling but that did
not stop him. As a teenager, he was very much influence by television advertisements.
In the 1960s, television has just been introduced in Malaysia. Advertisements were
not as refined as what they are today. Jingles were ever so popular. Just an enticing
were the cigarette advertisements. There were always these cool cowboys smoking
unfiltered cigarettes. John too followed suit because he thought by doing so it would
make him tough like them. He has since learnt otherwise. All his extra cash was spent
on cigarette which he smoked in toilets, or the many nooks and corners and secret
hideaway that his school had. Forty years ago, parents frowned on smoking because
only the “bad hats” smoked.
Now cigarettes are banned in Malaysia. Anti-smoking campaigns are the rage.
Most offices ban smoking. Smoking was banned during cabinet meeting when Tun
Dr. Mahathir Mohammad was the Prime Minister. He hated smoking and the smell of
cigarettes. Do you ever walked out of a smoke-filled room feeling suffocated when
you didn’t even touch a cigarette? Even though you are not a smoker, sharing the
same air space with smokers turns you into one - a passive smoker.
At this late stage in life, John wishes that he had been more aware of the dangers
of smoking when he was young. After many unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking,
he began to wish that all these campaigns were carried out when he was a kid.
Perhaps he would not have tobacco stained fingers, tarred lungs, bad breath and
cancer. A CT scan last year revealed that John had a tiny cancerous nodule on his left
lung which had since been removed.
The survivor rate of people with lung cancer is only 15% as many smokers are
diagnosed too late. Only 16% of lung cancers are found at a curable stage and the
disease is fatal in more than 90% of cases in general. Ninety per cent of lung cancer is
caused by smoking or inhaling second hand smokes.
Despite all the campaigns, John is surprised that studies show more people
especially the young and females are now picking up that nasty habit. Malaysia has
2.3 millions smokers. The culprit is still the media. Although advertisements on
cigarettes have been banned, television and newspapers are still the main sources of
influence among the young and impressionable.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Actors and actresses smoke in movies and they have quite an impact on young
people. Anti-smoking experts say that there is a direct link between on-screen
smoking and the onset smoking in teenagers. Anti-smoking groups say that seeing
stars smoking off-screen will have the same effects.
Do young smokers know what they are getting into? Is it worth shortening your
life five minutes for every cigarette you smoke? Is it worth the bad breath, tobacco
stained fingers and tarred lungs? You might become one of the 90% of smokers who
get lung cancer which is caused by smoking. Lung cancer accounts for 20% of all
cancer deaths. John says that he personally could have bought a luxury car or house
with the money he spent on cigarettes. Smoking can cause lung disease, cancer, heart
disease, gum disease, tooth decay and even bad breath. Women who smoke during
pregnancy put their babies at risk. Is it all worth it? Thank you for listening,
cooperation and attention. I hope that one day we might meet again.

Thank you.

******************** First Copy “ not acceptable ”********************

 PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION 2010

KELOMPOK M7

NAME OF PARTICIPANT: CELESTINE UAN CHU YING

I.C. NO. : 940202-07-5212
NAME OF SCHOOL : SMK BUKIT MERTAJAM
 Good Afternoon , Ladies and gentleman , my topic for today is something
which have been discussed many times but taken lightly –Smoking .

A smoker is someone who smokes tobacco regularly. What is smoking? Well,

smoking is breathing smokes into the mouth or lungs from burning tobacco, such as
cigarettes.

My uncle John started smoking when he was seventeen. He was still schooling but
that did not stop him. As a teenager, he was very much influence by television
advertisements. In the 1960s, television had just been introduced in Malaysia.
Advertisements were not as refined as what they are today. There were always these
cool cowboys smoking unfiltered cigarettes on television. John too followed suit
because he thought by doing so it would make him tough like them .Every time , he
started smoking , he would get so excited , he will puts his hand in the air and shout
“Yeee Haaa…” All his extra cash was spent on cigarette which he smoked in toilets,
or the many nooks and corners and secret hideaway that his school had. Forty years
ago, parents frowned on smoking because only the “bad hats” smoked.

My fellow audiences ,
Now cigarettes are banned in Malaysia to those under 18 years of age. Anti-
smoking campaigns are the rage. Most offices ban smoking. Smoking was banned
during cabinet meeting when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad was the Prime Minister.
He hated smoking and the smell of cigarettes. Unfortunately , no one listen because
Malaysian’s smokers are so strong-will that they can find a way to smoke but can’t
even keep their public toilet clean . Have you ever walked out of a smoke-filled room
feeling suffocated when you didn’t even touch a cigarette? Even though you are not a
smoker, sharing the same air space with smokers turns you into - a passive smoker.

At this late stage in life, John wishes that he had been more aware of the dangers
of smoking when he was young. After many unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking,
he began to wish that all these campaigns were carried out when he was a kid.
Perhaps he would not have tobacco stained fingers, tarred lungs, cancer and bad
breath .He might even have gotten marry to his long-term love interest , but
unfortunately his breath was so bad that she ran away all the way to Pakistan the
moment he said “ Hi “ . A CT scan last year revealed that John had a tiny cancerous
nodule on his left lung which had since been removed.

The survivor rate of people with lung cancer is only 15% as many smokers are
diagnosed too late. Only 16% of lung cancers are found at a curable stage and the
disease is fatal in more than 90% of cases in general. Ninety per cent of lung cancer is
caused by smoking or inhaling second hand smokes.

Despite all the campaigns, John is surprised that studies show more people
especially the young and females are now picking up that nasty habit. Malaysia has
2.3 millions smokers. The culprit is still the media. Although advertisements on
cigarettes have been banned, television and newspapers are still the main sources of
influence among the young and naïve .

Ladies and gentlemen,

Actors and actresses smoke in movies and they have quite an impact on young
people. Anti-smoking experts say that there is a direct link between on-screen
smoking and the onset smoking in teenagers. Anti-smoking groups say that seeing
stars smoking off-screen will have the same effects.

Do young smokers know what they are getting into? Is it worth shortening your
life five minutes for every cigarette you smoke? Is it worth the bad breath, tobacco
stained fingers and tarred lungs? You might become one of the 90% of smokers who
get lung cancer which is caused by smoking. Lung cancer accounts for 20% of all
cancer deaths. John says that he personally could have bought a luxury car or house
with the money he spent on cigarettes. Is it all worth it ? Do you think smoking is
good ? You decide .

Thank you.