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AL-SHARIKH: Good girls don't smoke  

I do not support conventional wisdom and I do not believe that one should follow the footsteps of our elders blindly. I am a big believer in change as an engine of development and progress, but smoking for Kuwaiti women is neither the former nor the latter. It is just a bad, stinky, unhealthy, and unattractive habit. If a Kuwaiti woman is cursed with being unable to quit smoking, she is not promoting women's liberation or equality; she is just making herself look bad. What is it all for? That light buzz from the slow breathing? The chance to mimic those forties Hollywood sirens puffing smoke in the air? It is just not worth it.

Women's health is infinitely more important than the temporary joy of smoking. I may not be one for traditions, but the idea that smoking makes a young lady look bad is one tradition we should most definitely uphold.

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