Anyone who gets paid for what they do has an immediate conflict of interest.
They are influenced by their superiors, by the need to keep their jobs,
by a sense of power and prestige or by the corrupting influence money can have on everything it touches.
That is why we have such a struggle with scientific "evidence" when it
comes to "proving" the harms of tobacco use and abuse.
While people continue to suffer the deadly consequences of tobacco addiction
and exposure to public tobacco use through secondhand smoke, the general public
is asked to wait for solutions. They are expected to continue to suffer and die while
government scientists struggle to gather "evidence" to counter the biased evidence provided
by tobacco industry scientists. Even credible evidence presented by respected researchers has to endure the
inevitable onslaught of discrediting by paid tobacco industry sources. We are too easy to accept the
idea put forth by both sides in this scientific war, that anecdotal evidence has no place in drafting
law and public policy. If this is true, then how have we come to a place where tobacco has enjoyed its
illegitimate legal position in society for so many decades? In the struggle for the right to breathe clean air,
we sometimes sacrifice victory because we have believed the projection that we need to follow rules that
give advantage to the other side. What we forget is that we are the majority! Our victory will come very
easily when everyone on our side stops supporting the other side. We need to listen to the stories of the thousands,
the hundreds of thousands, the millions of people who have stories to tell.
These stories all have a common thread that makes scientific "evidence" irrelevant.
Each and every one of the storytellers understands a simple fact that rings true with all.
Take away the tobacco and the problems also go away! As Judge Judy says: "Don't pee on my leg, then tell me it's raining!"
EXPERIENCE
is a collection of short one paragraph descriptions of experiences
people have had with exposure to tobacco smoke or other tobacco related
topics. It is meant to help dispel the myths about secondhand smoke and
tobacco in general. It is an attempt to put everyone in the shoes of those
who suffer from exposure to the toxic elements of tobacco smoke pollution and
those who suffer from other repercussions of the tobacco pandemic. Hopefully,
after reading these descriptions more people will understand how imperative
it is to end the practice of smoking in all public places without exceptions
and to end the acceptance of tobacco use in general! Please keep these
stories short with universal themes. If you are afraid to give your name for
any reason, this is the place to post! If you wish to tell a longer story it
will be added to the story collection. Remember, although it is not required
longer stories carry more weight if you give a name and a contact address or
e-mail address. Stories posted here may be edited for length or to eliminate
obvious repetition, but will not be posted without your approval of the
changes!
Send all stories to
The Smokefree Story Project.
- I have friends who tell me I am
obsessive about smoke. They say it's not as bad as I imagine! This
story I offer to them; Tobacco smoke exposure is cumulative. When I am
walking behind a smoker on the street, for example, I can feel the smoke
burning my lungs. Most people would say, just walk away, it's just one
small incident. But that's not the way it is with respiratory disease. Each
is just one of a collection of exposures I will encounter during the day. Each
one brings me one step closer to a migraine headache, vomiting, infection,
coughing and perhaps chest pain. But all issues of pollution fit this
category. In the beginning we think the one small piece of pollution we
contribute will be lost in a vast ocean or dissipate in an endless sky. Then
one day the garbage from a million people washes back onto the shores or
blocks out the sun or creates a hole in the ozone. Then we realize there
are consequences to each individual person's selfishness.
- The worst experience for me is
when people smoke in public toilets. Many times they go there to hide
because they are in a building where smoking is forbidden. After a
cigarette is smoked in such a small space the harmful toxic effects of the
tobacco smoke remain for hours after the cigarette is extinguished. The
best ventilation system will remove the smoke, so it appears the problem
is solved, but the odorless, invisible toxins remain much longer. Smoke in
a toilet cuts off access for persons with respiratory disease to a vital
public space and poisons others without their knowledge!
- My biggest fear is being
trapped in a space where someone has smoked, for example on a train where
I have to wait until it arrives at the next station. If I can't get out of
the smoke the consequences for me are severe! I have chronic bronchitis
and chronic sinus and ear infections because of exposure to smoke from my
parents smoking when I was a child. The thing I fear most is infection! I
know if I have to take antibiotics again for a severe infection I could
suffer for up to six months. Because of the continued use of antibiotics
throughout my life, my body now reacts in severe ways. After using
antibiotics I will have severe intestinal pain, diarrhea, candida
infection, inner ear problems, and problems digesting food. It is
imperative that I avoid smoke at all costs in order to avoid infection. With
the pervasiveness of public smoking those costs are really high! For me it
sometimes seems the whole world belongs to smokers!
-
My son has asthma. When we go
out to eat we always have to ask for seating as far away from the smoking
section as possible. For some reason this request is often ignored and we
are taken to a table next to the smoking section. Then we have to demand
to be seated at another table! Already our dining experience has been
spoiled! We have been in restaurants where the smoking section is in
another room with a door separating the two sections. The door is always
propped open to allow the waiters free access. We close the door, they
open it, then we have to leave because it doesn't work, the smoke comes
into the entire restaurant. My son has to suffer, our whole family has to
suffer so the persons who smoke won't have to pay the consequences for
their decision to smoke. I've even had people tell me it's not their fault
that my son has asthma. When I watch him doing his breathing treatment
because of exposure to cigarette smoke I am aware of where the
responsibility for his illness really lies!
-
I work in a government office
in the Netherlands. To resolve the issue of smoking in the office the
government created a smoking room to protect workers from the secondhand
smoke. The smokers protested saying they were being treated like second
class citizens. The truth was they didn't want to sit in their own
smoke! It was decided that a vote would be taken to resolve the
issue. The smokers decided it was better to allow smoking at their desks. I
am the only one in the office who doesn't smoke. I am the only one who
voted no! I am plagued with sore throats, sinus infections and headaches. I
know it's from the smoke. When I go on holiday the diseases go away. I am
afraid to speak up for my right to breathe clean air because I am afraid
it will jeopardize my ability to work with the others. I am alone in an
office full of smokers. The government is the one who should speak up for
my rights! I understand why the smokers don't want to smoke in a small
room. If they can't wait to go outside for their next cigarette they
should quit smoking. My health is jeopardized to protect an addiction to a
drug! It's simply unjust
-
I live in Berlin where it is
forbidden to smoke in the U-Bahn (Underground). In one particular station
everyone is smoking anyway. It is so bad you can see and smell the smoke
when you come into the station. The tracks are filled with literally
hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts from passengers who throw them
away before boarding the trains. One day I went to the station manager to
complain. He told me he understands me because he also doesn't smoke, he
knows the situation is bad, but he doesn't have the authority to stop
them. He was unable to tell me who has this authority! Another day I was
in the same station and I saw this station manager inside his booth
smoking a cigarette. My message is: when you need someone to defend your right
to be smokefree be sure it is someone who doesn't smoke. When someone
tells you they don't smoke, then defend smoking, assume they are lying! Sometimes
the foxes are guarding the chicken coops!
-
I deal with secondhand smoke by
holding my breath! I think I was doing it unconsciously for years until
one day I became conscious of doing it. To see it consciously was
really frightening. When I see someone ready to light a cigarette or
notice someone walking toward me my body takes over involuntarily. For me
the effect of secondhand smoke is almost instantaneous if I breathe it
into my nose. I imagine my sinus cavities are a mass of scar tissue from
the chronic infections my entire life. My head throbs the moment I come
into contact with smoke! For me the only way to avoid being sick is to
avoid inhaling smoke. I choose to live in the world, to socialize, to
participate publicly instead of locking myself inside my own home. This
means I spend a good part of my life holding my breath. Sometimes I image
that when I'm holding my breath my spirit dies a little from being so
passive about my fate! To imagine all the smokers of the world suddenly
caring about what they inflict on me and others seems an impossible dream!
So I will continue holding my breath until smokers realize their smoking
harms other people!
-
I was married to a chain smoker
for 21 years. He was also inclined to beat me occasionally, back when
domestic violence was considered a family issue! My husband died from lung
cancer a few years ago. Now I have been diagnosed with lung cancer also,
even though I have never smoked! The officials who do not take exposure to
ETS seriously remind me of the policemen who used to come to my door when
my husband was beating me. They would look into my bloodied face and tell
me it was not an issue for the police, it was between my husband and
myself!
-
I live in Frankfurt, Germany in
a small apartment on the top floor of a high-rise building. In many German
apartments there are common air vents in the toilets. Although I do not
smoke and do not allow smoking in my apartment, my bathroom is often
filled with tobacco smoke from the apartments below me. My complaints have
been ignored and the common attitude is that I should move out of my
apartment if it bothers me. That is the common justice for victims of
passive smoke in Germany! It is assumed there is something wrong with
people who cannot endure tobacco smoke. They think we are weak! I have
attempted to close the vent from my toilet to resolve the problem, but
still the smoke finds it's way through!
-
I trained as a pilot in the
British military. I then flew commercial passenger jets for forty years. In
the cockpit I was usually the only one who didn't smoke. I thought I was
being a nice guy by not complaining about smoke in such a confined area. Since
smoking was allowed at the back of the plane I thought it inconvenient to
ask them to smoke there because they were always too far away when needed.
I thought it was asking too much to expect them to go the entire flight
without a cigarette. Now I regret not speaking up for my right to breathe
clean air. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life, but I have been
diagnosed with emphysema from being exposed to secondhand smoke in such a
small space over so many years!
-
Sometimes even other people who
don't smoke can be insensitive to those of us with respiratory disease. Some
of my friends will intimidate me into silence with comments about my being
too outspoken on the issue of secondhand smoke. They believe I'm only
bothered by the smell of smoke, but in reality it makes me seriously ill. I
once believed as they do, but I learned the hard way that I was wrong,
that staying in the smoke eventually has severe consequences! My speaking
up so often is not the problem! The problem is that smoking is so
prevalent I am forced to speak up often. The solution is to ban all
smoking in public! It's as simple as that! I have a right to breathe clean
air!
-
My husband and I were invited
to a party by a very close friend. There were to be several other people
at the party who were at least casual acquaintances of ours. It never
occurred to us that anyone would be smoking at the party because we simply
don't know anyone who smokes. When we arrived at the host's home we
realized immediately we would have to leave. The smoke was so thick I was
unable to stay long enough to find my friend to explain why we had to
leave. My friend is angry with me for leaving! She thinks my problems with
smoke are in my head. I have emphysema for God's sake! Why is everything
that deals with tobacco so unbelievably backwards?
-
I was seated outside at a
restaurant in Europe with three friends. After ordering our food a French
couple sat at the table downwind from us. They both lit cigarettes and the
smoke drifted over our table. I motioned for the waiter and asked to be
moved to another table on the opposite side of the French couple. My
communication was only with the waiter because my previous experiences
confronting the French about smoking have made them aggressive. Because of
this I never even looked at the couple as we were moving. The French woman
became very angry anyway, calling us arrogant Americans! All I wanted was
to have my meal in peace without smoke and without a confrontation! In
reality it should have been they who had to move! It was another example
of what happens when drug addicts are confronted with the consequences of
their addiction! From the perspective of the smoking culture, people who
don't smoke are obviously required to endure our unjust suffering in
silence and with no resolution!
-
I live in a tobacco growing
state, so sometimes it seems we will never ban smoking in public places. The
other day I was shopping in the supermarket when a man lit up a cigarette
beside me. I asked him to put it out, but he ignored my request. I went to
the manager who informed me there is no law in Tennessee that forbids
smoking in supermarkets! I had always assumed there was a law against
smoking around food. I had no idea we were that far behind the times! I
can only assume the manager of the supermarket is also a smoker! I'm sure
they can ban smoking in their own store without a state law to back them
up!
-
Since I have respiratory
disease it's imperative that I have total control over my own life at all
times. I'm sure there are people who think I've became antisocial,
but I'm merely trying to protect myself and my health. The moment I
let someone else have control they forget I'm devastated by exposure to
secondhand smoke. Then I begin to look like the habitual complainer, the
person obsessed with smoke. I walk a tightrope between the insensitive
habits of smokers and misconceptions of friends and family. Because of the
acceptance of public tobacco use I am many times left with no choice but
to stay home! I don't want to be fighting all the time! I just want to
take for granted that I can go everywhere like everyone else does.
-
Because I've chosen to be
smokefree some people assume there's something wrong with me. They tell me
I'm unhealthy, but I feel better than I've felt in years. I was always
sick before I started demanding my right to breathe clean air Now I am
reminded daily of the acceptance of nicotine addiction in our society. It's
like everyone around me wants me to go back to my old ways so I won't keep
reminding them of how ridiculous smoking is. It would be much easier for
everyone if I wouldn't rock the boat! There are still times when I find
myself holding my breathe in silence so everyone won't think I'm a trouble
maker!
-
Secondhand smoke outdoors harms
people! We need to repeat this fact until it is imbedded in the
consciousness of everyone, smokers and smokefree people alike. When I ask
smokers to stop smoking they think it's enough to say, "but we're outside!"
and that relinquishes them of responsibility for the people they harm when
they smoke outside!
-
People who do not have asthma
sometimes abuse the little information they know about the disease Some
believe most asthma is brought on by stress. Others believe it is
psychosomatic, that the sufferers imagine they are harmed by their
environment. These are typical excuses smokers use to relinquish
responsibility for causing asthma attacks with secondhand smoke. Asthma is
a very complex disease. Most who suffer know the difference between stress
related asthma and environment related asthma. Asthma created by
secondhand smoke is seldom if ever brought on by the stress of seeing a
lighted cigarette! There are more than 4,600 chemicals in the smoke from a
cigarette and 40 have been proven to cause cancer. Those chemicals include
cyanide, arsenic, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and ammonia, just to name
a few! Many of my asthma attacks brought on by exposure to cigarette smoke
happen before I even see or smell the cigarette because many of the toxins
in tobacco smoke are odorless.
-
People who don't smoke often
sit in secondhand smoke at an outdoor cafe or restaurant afraid to speak
up for their right to breathe clean air. They believe people will think
they are crazy for complaining outdoors. Silence only supports the myth
that smoke outdoors isn't harmful. If we don't speak up this myth will
never go away! It is not rude to ask someone to stop harming you! It is
very rude, however, to continue harming someone who has made you aware of
your harmful action! This is often the response of smokers outdoors!
-
I go to a small travel shop in
Southeast Asia to do my e-mail each day. I go to this particular shop
because there is a very obvious sign that says no smoking! One day two
French men came to use computers. They lit up cigarettes and I immediately
pointed to the no smoking sign. They gave the usual, "Yeah, Yeah" response
and continued to smoke. For me it was already too late, I had to leave the
shop because I was already sick. They put out their cigarettes then began
to laugh, pointing to me as if there is something wrong with me. When I
talk about this kind of behaviour in Germans and French I am sometimes
accused of generalizing. I am simply pointing out that these two
particular cultures allow excessive tobacco smoke abuse within their own
countries, so smokers from these countries seem rude and aggressive in
places that respect the right to breathe clean smokefree air!
-
I was on holiday with a group
of friends who do not smoke. One member of our group met a French couple
who smoke. She told them I have asthma and they shouldn't smoke when I am
around. I appreciated this gesture, but later realized it wasn't enough. My
friends sit around the table with the French couple smoking, so when I
arrive it looks as if the problem is me, not the smokers. I am then put in
the position of asking them to stop smoking or leaving to avoid their
smoke! They already know I have asthma, but do not put out their
cigarettes when I arrive. Ten people, only two are smokers and the smokers
dictate the policy! The French woman has cancer and is doing chemo
therapy, but still smokes. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.
-
I witnessed the death of a very
close family member to lung cancer from smoking. I was proud of the way
she fought to stay alive. She had tried to quit smoking several times, but
her husband wouldn't quit and did all he could to sabotage her efforts to
quit. She admitted her responsibility for her cancer and did all she could
to persuade others to stop smoking to save their own lives. So forgive me
when I find it hard to understand people who keep smoking when they have
cancer. They say they might as well enjoy life since they will die anyway.
I can only feel pity for their lack of self esteem and their suicidal behaviour.
There is nothing heroic about their lives. They are tragic!
-
I'd like to give my two cents
worth to this debate. I am a widow living in a retirement village in
Florida. My best friend is a smoker and we have butted horns over the
issue of smoking for years. I began by refusing to let her smoke in my
home, then later told her she is not allowed to smoke whenever she's with
me. Each time she protests very loudly, threatens to disobey my wishes but
always gives in. I think she knows she is wrong. I say she's just blowing
smoke when she says I'm unfair. She even threatened to boycott our favourite
restaurant when it went totally smokefree. But we still go there together
because in reality it doesn't cost her anything but better health. The
only negative thing I can say about our restaurant going smokefree is that
it's always full now! I think most older people appreciate a healthy
environment for their autumn years!
-
I really dislike people saying
I'm allergic to smoke. I think it implies that it's unusual to not be able
to tolerate smoke. As far as I know the nose and lungs were designed to
breathe in clean air for sustaining life. They were also built with a
warning system to let you know when you are being poisoned. By definition
everyone should be allergic to smoke. Some people just disconnect their
alarm systems in order to feed addictions!
-
As I read through these stories
I am angry, I am sad, sometimes a little bit ashamed, but the most
surprising thing is how many of these stories are about my life!
-
I live in Holland but was travelling
in Indonesia when I was asked to come home because my father was dying of
lung cancer in 1987. One of his friends from work came to visit him. Even
though my father was connected to Oxygen and dying from lung cancer, this
friend sat beside his bed, rolled a cigarette and lit it! I remember this
as an example of how unconscious people who are addicted to nicotine can
be!
-
Because I have respiratory
disease I have been forced to end relationships with smokers over the
years. I have one friend who doesn't smoke but has many friends who do. I
can tell she thinks my requirement to be smokefree is unfair to her
friends who smoke. She reluctantly explains to them that they must not
smoke around me, but most of them do anyway. I can feel the tension from
her, there are always little comments that are put downs, accusations that
I am too sensitive, statements that imply it's my perception of smoking
that causes the problems! I am now forced to end my relationships with
people who think defending tobacco addiction is more important than
friendship, more important than the health of friends! Today my friend
told me she thinks my obsession with smoke limits my possibilities in
life. Today I realized she is not really my friend because she means it
limits my possibility to be friends with smokers who abuse me!
-
I've been travelling for many
years alone and I'm quite proud of the fact I have been able to do it most
of the time without getting sick from tobacco smoke pollution. Of course
there are some countries I simply don't go because of excessive smoking
habits. When I travelled with friends who also don't smoke I was ill with
headaches, sinus infections and asthma attacks two days out of every
three! Some friends simply refuse to leave places where there is smoking. There
are times they convince me I am being "too sensitive!" These are the times
I become ill. When I go off to travel alone again I am never ill when I
can avoid the smoke! I hate smoking, I hate the arrogance of smokers and I
hate the way people who are normally intelligent seem to suspend that
intelligence when it comes to tobacco addiction.
-
One day recently a friend
indicated she wanted to have a serious talk with me. I met her for
afternoon tea. She explained that she was concerned about my attitude
toward smoking because she felt I was limiting my life by being too
focused on what other people do. I have respiratory disease and have
chosen not to expose myself to tobacco smoke because of the serious
consequences. I am not surprised because this isn't the first time I've
been confronted with this attitude, but I am angry with my friend I wonder
if she would tell someone without legs they should stand up and walk, or a
blind person they should see. She obviously isn't a good enough friend to
have empathy with my situation. If it doesn't happen to her it doesn't
exist. She has chosen to be with her friends who smoke in public. I have
enough self respect to accept that and let go of that particular
friendship!
-
My life has totally changed since moving from a tobacco state (Georgia)
to more enlightened Tucson, Arizona. Although I still have to watch out for
bar/restaurants, there are hundreds of smokefree restaurants I can patronize,
as well as all theaters, most sporting events, malls, stores, etc. I still
have to plan where to go on vacation. Hint: California- yes, Nevada- NO! I
still can't go to outdoor concerts, and have to be careful at outdoor fairs &
other gatherings. I too always correct people who ask if I am allergic to
smoke. "Allergies are reactions to harmless substances. Tobacco smoke is
extremely toxic, and I consider it clever of my body to shut down my airways
before much of it can enter my lungs." I refuse to end up with severe asthma
from environmental tobacco smoke like my Mom. My few friends who smoke
understand, and warn me before they light up, so I can leave. If they don't,
they are not a friend. Stand up for yourself and for smokefree air- for all
of us!
-
I agree with the idea that the smokefree movement is a civil rights
movement. Every time I am confronted with a public space where smoking is
allowed it's like having a sign on the door that says smokers only! If I
enter that space I become a smoker of secondhand smoke. If I breathe the
smoke I become ill! In the world the way it exists today my right to
participate fully in society is denied in the same way as segregation denied
Blacks rights in the South. There was one advantage in the Black civil rights
movement though. They couldn't change the color of their skin! They had to
fight! As more of us who have never smoked are given the opportunity to
experience smokefree public environments we find it more difficult to "change
the color of our skin" to get by! No more pretending it doesn't bother us.
-
In the fight against nicotine addiction there are two kinds of heroes who
belong in the same category; those who quit smoking and those who have never
smoked but speak up for their right to breathe clean air. Both require a great amount of courage!
-
My husband and I often travel by car, staying in motels along the way.
He, being very organized, would make reservations weeks in advance, always
requesting non-smoking rooms. We were usually advised there was no guarantee
we'd get a non-smoking room unless one was available when we checked in. He
learned to insist on non-smoking rooms "for medical reasons" as we would
frequently travel with our grandson who has asthma. Now we always request a
non-smoking room "for medical reasons' in order to secure a non-smoking
room. This is, however, no guarantee you'll get a room that hasn't been
smoked in!
-
Once I found an ashtray in a clearly marked nonsmoking room in a motel. I
took it to the front desk and asked why ashtrays were provided if the room
was nonsmoking. The manager on duty informed me that when they ran out of
smoking rooms they would often give a nonsmoking room to a smoker! Needless
to say -- we never stayed there again.
-
My husband has a co-worker who is losing his sight. There is a surgery
available that would improve his sight and perhaps stop the progression of
the disease. He repeatedly canceled appointments to schedule the surgery .
When I asked him why, he said they wanted him to stop smoking two weeks
before the surgery and he didn't think he could stop. He is clearly an addict
if he chooses smoking over sight.
-
My grandson was diagnosed with asthma when he was two years old. He and
his mother lived with her parents. I will never forget the first time we went
to see him. He was sitting at the dining room table taking a breathing
treatment on his nebulizer. There were four people sitting around him
smoking, including his mother and grandparents. My heart was breaking to see
him helpless in this situation. That picture will be with me for the rest of
my life. He is safe now because he lives with his dad who doesn't smoke and
doesn't allow anyone else to smoke around him.
-
Twenty five years ago I married a smoker. It was accepted then that some
people smoked and others didn't. I never smoked myself, but for the four
years I was married to him I may as well have been a smoker. I've been
married for twenty years now to someone who doesn't smoke. If I were single
today I would never even consider going out with someone who smokes. I don't
even allow smoking in my house, my car or my garage. I wouldn't sit in the smoking section of a restaurant, even for my best friend (if she smoked). I
don't go to parties where smoking is allowed and I won't stand outside and
talk to someone with a cigarette in their hand. I'm tired of being exposed to
ETS! I'm writing to my state senator and to the governor of Missouri. I'm no
longer going to just complain about ETS, I'm going to do something about it!
-
Last year my best friend took me to Europe for my first trip abroad. I
enjoyed many aspects of Europe except for the tobacco smoke. This year I
decided to go again with more planning ahead to avoid secondhand smoke as
much as possible. I have contacted many hotels to ask for smokefree rooms on
smokefree floors. I assumed American owned hotels would provide this service.
Many have told me there are smokefree rooms available, but avoid answering
the question about smokefree floors and refuse to guarantee that the rooms
have not been smoked in. When I send further enquiries the correspondence
simply ceases! Last year I sat in a smokefree room that had smoke pumped in
from other rooms through the air-conditioning system. Why are English travel
guides not providing more information on smokefree travel? Why are Europeans
so unconscious when it comes to tobacco abuse?
-
Many of us know intelligent people who continue to smoke. Many of us have
loved ones who have died from tobacco use. But that doesn't change the facts
about smoking! Sucking smoke into one's lungs is just about the most stupid,
self-destructive thing a person can do! The truth is, most people who smoke
have harmed other people with their secondhand smoke. Whether it's conscious
or unconscious, that secondhand smoke contributes to illness and sometimes
even death in people who don't smoke. If the world is going to change we need
to speak loudly and often about the negative aspects of tobacco use. Silence
only contributes to the unnecessary illnesses and deaths. Instead of worrying
about saving a relationship or not rocking the boat, we should think about
saving lives!
-
I have never smoked, but my parents smoked when I was a child. I just
want people who read these stories to know that people like me exist. I am a
prisoner in my own home in Greece. I can't go anywhere because the effects of
secondhand smoke are devastating for me. I enjoy nature and fresh air
outdoors, but I seldom go into enclosed places because smoking is allowed
virtually everywhere. I am angry at smokers and the tobacco companies and my
government, but I have no hope for a resolution. In my country people smoke
in the banks, in the shops, even the drivers on busses smoke though it's
forbidden!
-
On Easter Sunday we took our 4 children to Six Flags Over Texas amusement
park. There is a law in Arlington, Texas that forbids smoking in ticket
lines, but smoking is allowed everywhere else in the park. As I stood waiting
for my kids to finish rides I was surrounded by other parents who were
smoking. At the end of the day I was sick from inhaling smoke, my son who has
asthma was sick and my youngest daughter had swollen tonsils! As more and
more indoor places become smokefree it becomes evident that this battle will
not be over until smokers are forbidden to smoke anywhere they might harm
others!
-
I was invited to an outdoor concert at the Opera House in Sydney,
Australia. The secondhand smoke was so bad I had to leave fifteen minutes
into the concert. My friend kept arguing that I couldn't be sick because we
were outdoors. The floodlights were situated in such a way that they
illuminated the clouds of smoke rising from the spectators. Even this
spectacle didn't convince my friend that my illness was real! I am always
amazed at the power of denial!
-
This is a story from March, 1988. Four of us had traveled to Los Angeles
from San Francisco for the weekend. When we arrived at the airport for our
return flight to SF they told us we would have to sit in the smoking section
because there were no nonsmoking seats left. Well, California had already
banned smoking on all flights within the state. The Pan Am flight attendants
told us our flight didn't qualify because it originated in Florida. We
differed and refused to agree to fly on a smoking flight. The pilot send word
back that we would have to leave the plane. We refused! He then came on the
intercom and t