A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Inorganic Materials Engineering 19985015 Nam, Eun-Ju

Ancient Greek philosophers such as Thales mediated on what the "arche" - the fundamental elements of life- were. The elements which they proposed as being fundamental were water, air, fire, and earth. As we all know, one of them, air is vital to human life. We cannot live for more than a few minutes without breathing. We breathe 17~20 times a minute and the air we breathe in is composed of different gases. Four-fifths is nitrogen, one-fifths is oxygen, there is a little carbon-dioxide and some very small quantities of rare gases. We breathe in the oxygen which the cells of our bodies need to produce energy. After the cells use up the oxygen the remaining carbon dioxide is breathed out as it is a harmful waste gas. Nowadays, it is often difficult to breathe in clean air because of the air pollution caused by industrialization. Only in remote places or in the forest can we take a deep breath of truly clean, fresh air. In spite of the prevailing concern about health in our society, the number of smokers, especially young smokers, is not decreasing, but is on the increase. We can only guess at some of the reasons why young people start smoking. However, we cannot help worrying about their health. The desire to "smoke away" or mitigate many kinds of stress is most likely a major reason for smoking and seems to be a primary factor as to why people continue to smoke. Historically speaking, we cannot deny that smoking has contributed to great men acheiving their ambitions. In other words, smoking may be thought of by some a catalyst to being successful in the world.

But later in life, smoking can cause many problems. Smoking is very harmful to our health. It can cause lung cancer, and respiratory illness. What is worse, the effect of smoking is not restricted to smokers themselves. It can have serious consequences for those around you such as your colleagues, families and friends. This so-called passive smoking is harmful to those who do not smoke but inhale others' smoke in an enclosed space. The smokers can smoke away their stress, but passive smokers may be innocent victims in health terms.

The green leaves of the trees on campus are becoming greener every day, but the corridors can seem dark and rather unpleasant during the breaks due to the smoke from cigarettes How about considering the non-smokers point of view and making an effort to keep the air clean, to have a more pleasant atmosphere and a brighter future. Like the proverb says, "It is never too late to mend one's way." So it is never too late stop smoking, or at least for you to consider the effects your acts can have on others.