Smoking, teaching and praying

Hartley Neita, Contributor

I SMOKED my first cigarette over 40 years ago. A friend, who subsequently became a doctor, gave me the first one.

For two or three years, I smoked the odd cigarette offered by friends. Then as I left my teen years and thought I was a man, I started buying my own. The brands I began with were Four Aces and Gold Flake, both made by the Machado Tobacco Factory in Kingston.

The cost then was about one shilling per pack of 10. Around that time I discovered Lucky Strike and Chesterfield cigarettes and because they were American and foreign I thought they were better than the Jamaican-made product. So, taking out the pack and making sure the name was seen by my company, was my means of profiling and showing off, puffing smoke rings and tilting the cigarette from the corner of our lips. Later on, I started smoking English cigarettes, such as Pall Mall and Woodbine (if I remember the name correctly).

Taxes

Because of taxes, the price of these foreign cigarettes went up and up. So too, did the Jamaican-made ones. But because those made here were cheaper, young men like myself returned to our Jamaican roots. But as succeeding Ministers of Finance tacked on additional taxes, a penny this year and a penny next year, we turned to the cheaper brands. So for a while we started smoking Royal Blend, which had a harsh taste and a horrible smell. When we found we could not enjoy these cigarettes, we turned to buying our own tobacco and paper, and a cigarette-making machine from Zayne's factory and made our own. This, however, was not satisfactory, so we went back to the Four Aces and Gold Flake brands.

These were replaced in succeeding years by Rothman's and other brands, and for years I resisted pleas by family and friends to stop smoking. And then one night, about 10 years ago, I stopped. I don't know how or why, but I suddenly lost the craving.

So I will not be one of the smokers who will be taxed to provide funds to help our health sector. But I think it is one of the most painless ways of finding this additional revenue. So when it comes into effect I will applaud my friends who still smoke and consider them just one step removed from being National Heroes.

The second news item which caught my attention last week was the Education Minister's invitation to trained teachers who have gone to other professions, and retired teachers, to re-enter the profession either part or full-time. Most of the teachers I know, who have retired, still yearn for the satisfaction they enjoyed while teaching (though not happy with the salaries). There are also retired senior executives in the public and private sector who could probably be persuaded to accept the Minister's invitation and take up graduate pre-trained or the pre-trained posts in schools.

Then I was delighted to learn of the private sector/church initiative of inviting the country to dedicate two minutes of their time for national praying at noon next Tuesday. To my mind, this is the most useful proposal to come from these bodies in response to the national trauma of the past few weeks.

The difference

Indeed, I am reminded that on the first anniversary of the June 7, 1692 earthquake which destroyed Port Royal, a public holiday was declared to commemorate that tragedy. But there was a difference, the law established it as "a perpetual anniversary day of fasting and humiliation, and for the mortification of the flesh thereby to appease the divine wrath of which the earthquake was a manifestation".

The law did not stop or prohibit the carrying on of business, but called on Jamaicans to "resort to some usual place where prayers and preaching are used to be ministered and there orderly and devoutly abide during the celebration of divine service by prayers, preaching and singing of hymns".

This may be an extreme we may not be able to pursue. But one day of two minutes as proposed by these two groups, is far from adequate. This would merely be a symbolic gesture. It should be done for one year at least, in the first instance, and the entire country should be mobilised towards this end.

The Governor-General should be asked to issue a proclamation declaring this "period of humiliation" to begin on August 1, Emanci-pation Day. That proclamation should be mass-printed for display in offices and in public places, including the Internet. In addition, a special prayer should be composed to be used on radio and television, and taught in Sunday schools and all other schools.

Church bells should be rung every day for five minutes before noon, and I could list a score or more suggestions.

What I suggest is that a team of currently active professional communicators should be asked to come together and devise a truly national communications programme which can touch the hearts of all of us.

Finally, no public profiling please.

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