it’s the health and safety measure iraqis have not been waiting for. the government in baghdad last week banned smoking in public buildings. anyone found lighting up will have to pay a fine equivalent to $4,300, enough to buy 17,200 packs of cigarettes at the local price of about 25 cents. “do the politicians have nothing better to do?” asks abu yasser, as he takes a drag while filling up his car at a petrol station. “my cousin was recently murdered by terrorists, my neighbour was tortured by the police, my electricity is cut for most of the day, the same is true in most hospitals in the city. and they are worried about smoking?”
as soon as parliament ratifies the cabinet-imposed ban, iraqi smokers will be forced to loiter on street corners exposed to car bombs and 45-degree heat in the summer. but according to a recent study, smoking kills an average of 55 iraqis a day, compared to a current average of ten deaths daily from terrorist shootings or bombings. so the government argues that it is perfectly reasonable to outlaw smoking on public-health grounds.
nonetheless, the ban has done nothing to improve the already low opinion many iraqis have of their democratically elected government. “bring back saddam,” says a cigarette vendor. “we were free to smoke anywhere then.” others link the ban to reports of torture in official detention. “prisons are public buildings, right? so will they now prevent guards from stubbing out cigarettes on the arms, legs and backs of inmates?” asks one university student. with nerves jangled from years of upheaval, nicotine is often the first and only comfort. stuck at checkpoints, iraqis pass around cigarettes. faced with recalcitrant bureaucrats, they do the same.
in parliament though, the ban is popular. islamists want to get rid of tobacco outright. of course, many ministers and mps smoke too, often in their offices. but, given their elevated positions, few rules apply to them.
伊拉克政府在推行健康卫生政策这件事上颇有点时不我待的感觉。上周，巴格达方面就颁布政令，要求在公共建筑内全面禁烟。如有违反，违者将被处以高达4300美元的天价罚款。要知道当地一包烟的价格不过在25美分左右，这么多钱够买足足17200包烟了。“这帮政客吃饱了饭没事干啊？”加油站里，阿布·亚西尔在给汽车加油时，下车点了根烟，他一边抽一边抱怨道，“最近，我表哥被恐怖份子杀害了，邻居也给警察抓去严刑拷打。我家里大部分时间都在断电也就算了，可政府甚至连医院的供电都没法保证。都乱成这样了，那帮家伙竟然还有心情关心吸烟这点破事。”
一旦议会准许内阁强制实行这一禁令，那在这个夏天，伊拉克的老烟枪们就不得不冒着被汽车炸弹袭击的危险以及45度的高温游荡在街头，享受吞云吐雾的“快感”。尽管听起来这有点不近人情，可根据一份研究报告的数据，每天死于吸烟所引发疾病的伊拉克人平均是55人，而平均每天死于枪击爆炸案的伊拉克人有10人，相比之下，吸烟的危害似乎更大。这一报告让政府有理由相信：禁烟运动，利国利民，功在社稷。
然而，老百姓可不领情，禁令并没能让伊拉克人对他们民选政府的不良印象有所改观。“让萨达姆回来吧。”一位香烟商大声疾呼，“他起码让我们随地吸烟。”更有甚者将此和其它严刑逼供的报道相联系。一位大学生就质问道：“监狱算是公共建筑吧？那根据那劳什子禁令，以后狱卒也不能用烟头来烫囚犯的手脚身躯了吧？” 事实上，在这些年的动荡不安中，尼古丁一直是人们首选的也是唯一的精神慰藉。在检查站，伊拉克人互相递烟度日。面对顽固不化的官僚，他们也是这般“守望相助”的。