Smoking has become part and parcel of some people. Most of the youths now embrace the habit because their peers are doing it.
Peer pressure is real. You find a man you are with in high school has become an active smoker. Some people can even do two packets a day. If they are told smoking is bad, they usually defend themselves saying everything is bad it just needs one to regulate their intake of any substance. They believe cigarettes are good and not harmful to their health.
''I once told my friend that smoking leads to an early death. He, however, told me that we are all headed that direction whether we smoke or not,'' said Yvette Barasa, one Kibera resident.
The reality about smoking is that too much of smoking is harmful to a person’s health. Many smokers die due to the soot from the inhaled smoke blocking fresh air during breathing. Smoking can also cause lung cancer.