A central pillar of the anti-smoking movement is the "Role Model" argument. We are told that teachers, nurses, and public figures must be forbidden from smoking in sight of the public, lest they corrupt the youth.
This demand for invisibility is often framed as "protecting children." In reality, it teaches them a far more dangerous lesson: The Art of Deception.
The Sanitized Reality
By forcing "responsible adults"—our educators, our healers, our leaders—to hide their habits in dark alleys like criminals, we attempt to construct a sanitized version of humanity for our children. We present them with a world where "good" people have no flaws.
But what happens when that illusion breaks? When a child eventually sees a respected mentor smoking in a designated area, the social contract shatters.
If we teach the youth that smoking is solely the domain of the "villain" or the "failure," and they then witness a compassionate nurse or a brilliant teacher smoking, they are not taught health resilience. They are taught that authority figures are liars.
The Curricula of Cruelty
Perhaps the most disturbing development is the weaponization of children in the public sphere. We have all witnessed it: a parent nudging a child to perform a loud, exaggerated cough when passing a smoker who is metres away and outdoors.
Let us be clear about what is being taught in that moment.
- Intolerance: The child learns that it is socially acceptable to publicly shame strangers based on personal choices.
- The Lie: The child learns to feign a medical reaction (the cough) to make a political point.
- dehumanisation: The child is taught that the person holding the cigarette is not a neighbor to be engaged with, but a target to be scorned.
If we replace the smoker with an overweight person, or a person with a visible disability, this behavior would immediately be recognized for what it is: Bullying.
A Plea for Honest Education
We do not ask for smoking to be encouraged in schools. We ask only for the end of this theatrical invisibility.
Let children see that "good" people can struggle with addiction. Let them see that adults are complex. And most importantly, let us stop training the next generation to view ostracism as a virtue.
History has taught us the high cost of dehumanizing a specific group to "purify" the whole. Let us not walk that path again.