People can't stop talking about making the ojude oba festival smoke free this year, and honestly, I'm here for it. The reason is mostly because CAPPA, which is like this group fighting for public health, wants the festival to set a good example since it’s such a big, flashy event. They’re worried about how much attention tobacco companies could get during the festival. Last year, some photo of a cancer survivor smoking during the celebration got spread around, and people thought it glamorized smoking, which really messes with the festival's meaning and could send the wrong message.

I get where they’re coming from, because nobody likes to be around secondhand smoke, especially at family events. Plus, after seeing a bunch of health warnings on social media lately, it kind of hits you that tobacco isn’t just "bad for you" in a vague way. It actually messes up your lungs, can give you cancer, and endangers people around you. Since the festival is such a huge deal with loads of people and media, if ojude oba festival goes smoke free, it’ll show everyone you can throw a wild party and still care about people’s health.

It’s cool to see people raise their voices about public health, even at cultural parties.