Disclaimer: Only 1 pack of Pocky was eaten in the making of this post. No lungs or the environment was harmed throughout the process.

Does sticking some sticks in your mouth actually make you look cool?

Nah, not really.

Maybe you could try stuffing a tree in your mouth, that might make you look cooler. Because for every 300 cigarettes that are produced, one tree is destroyed. One tree, you scoff? ONE TREE? I’ll tell you what one tree in Miss Earth’s books mean: one tree means home to all sorts of various biodiversity. How about you try demolishing one HBD flat and see if that’s funny.

Now try destroying nearly 600 MILLION TREES a year to provide for the tobacco industry. Tobacco growing significantly contributes to the increasing rate of deforestation, which of course, leads to climate change, global warming and loss of biodiversity.

No more trees, means less oxygen and more carbon dioxide. More carbon dioxide means a thicker ozone layer and more heat trapped on the Earth’s surface.

Feeling hot, hot, HOT!

Now picture this. It’s a beautiful sunny day. The sun is shining, the wind is gently caressing your cheek and playfully messing up your hair. The trees are dancing in the breeze and you’re lazing under the shade in your favourite comfy tee. You dig your toes in the fine sand, lie down for a bit and cam-whore, turn around and………. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Somebody’s ugly butt is staring you in the face. Cigarette butt that is. Not. A. Pretty. Sight.

In Singapore, the Coastal Cleanup reported that cigarettes were one of the top three items collected in 2007 to 2009. Why couldn’t seashells be the number one collected item? In addition to being the number one debris item collected worldwide, the global tobacco industry produced an estimated 2.3 billion kg of manufacturing waste and 209 million kg of chemical waste in 1995.

That’s a lot of waste for Mother Earth to handle. Tsk tsk.

Not only does cigarettes and cigarette filters destroy our beautiful coasts, cigarette butt litter harms marine life too. The UN International Maritime Organisation found that 177 species of marine animals and 111 species of shorebirds were affected by tobacco in 2003. Poor Nemo! Unknowingly ingesting the litter causes unnecessary death, starvation and malnutrition among these marine species. They obviously mistake the cigarette butts as food. When you’re hungry and something’s put in front of you, you don’t really question what it is right? And in the deep blue ocean, everything is, well, blue.

No body really thought something so small could cause such great damage to so many things in our environment. Staying smoke free and not lighting up will definitely do both our environment and ourselves more good than bad. I obviously don’t smoke. But imagine if I did. Try imagining it.

Can’t do it?

Let me help you.

Imagine me, a beauty queen looking like that. You wouldn’t honestly believe it if I told you I was a beauty queen. You’d laugh and fall off your chair. Actually maybe you’re already laughing at the first photo. Hahaha.

But really, I look better in person. So if you’re really interested in seeing me in the flesh and want to take pretty pictures, mark 29th May down on your calendars. It’s going to be an exciting day because I’m celebrating the World No Tobacco Day! In actual fact, World No Tobacco Day is on the the 31st of May. But it being a Monday, we decided to celebrate and party on Saturday to beat the Monday blues with the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) help. Also in partnership with Mediacorp 987FM, HPB will be bringing you Singapore’s first Great Audio Experience!

Register for the #liveitup2010 event at http://breathe.sg/liveitup. Even better, refer a friend and increase YOUR chance of winning an IPAD when both you and your friend turn up at the event! It pays to travel in healthy smoke-free packs.

I’ll be there for sure since I’m one of the four ambassadors. I promise I will look good and nothing like that in the photo I just posted above. Hee hee. I also won’t smell of anything less than flowers! I promise! So come down to Plaza Singapura please? Say Hi and if you smell nice, I might even kiss you! Hahahaha.