A Lingering Danger?

I think that it is a combination of both. First of, I know people that try time and again to quit, but it is one of the worst in the habits category. While it is an extension to the dangers about exposing children to tobacco, the first-hand and second-hand smoke should be reason enough to chuck the habit without using a third-hand danger.

I feel as though no one can truly understand what it is like to break a habit of this magnitude, unless you have been through it yourself. I could say that I kicked the habit of biting my nails, something I have done for a long long time and it would not amount to the amount of suffering a smoker has to face. Someone I know resolved to stop chewing. He will still have cigars from time to time, but the nicotine withdrawal from just one thing makes his mood swing like a girl with pms. And I am sure there is plenty more things that go on behind the scenes that I don't know about.

The thing is, parents already know the dangers of smoking around children, and most will go off outside to smoke. It is hard enough to quit as it is, add the pressure of being responsible for other peoples lives and you add the stress that brings them to smoke in the first place. Hopefully there is a common medium to where smokers feel the need to quit, but don't feel all the stress that falls on their shoulders. They need support, not critisism. They already know smoking is bad.

I never really thought about it as a kid. My mom smoked when she was pregnant. My dad smoked, all four of my grandparents smoked. Almost all of my aunts and uncles smoked. I was pretty much covered in second hand smoke anytime I was indoor as a child, particularly at family get-togethers which were common, I'd say several times per month.

Then, one by one, relatives started to quit or die of cancer. Even my one grandmother, who smoked for 50+ years, gave it up when she turned 76. Damage done, she died at 82 from cancer and emphysema in both lungs, but the doctors said if she didn't quit, she wouldn't have made 77.

I detest the smell of cigarette smoke. I have two friends who smoke a ton and my wife and I avoid going to their house as much as possible because of it. We recently did a road trip with them from Albany, NY to Orlando, FL. We took their car so they could smoke and it was brutal. Most telling was at one point, we could have saved $12 in parking if we all took my wife's grandmother's car as everyone who was going to Universal could fit in it. They chose to pay the additional $12 so they wouldn't have to go the 30 minutes without smoking.

I was very happy when smoking was banned in NY bars and restaurants because you can always smell it. If I am in traffic and am behind a smoker with my window open, it will immediately catch my attention.

And I don't care if it is only a little toxic. Don't hide under the tired rant of calling those of us who hate breathing that garbage pinko bleeding heart liberals. My fatty steak isn't killing anyone but me. Smokers cannot say the same thing and those who don't care that their second hand smoke can affect other people, in my opinion, are akin to drunk drivers. Maybe the affects are not as readily seen, nor as instantly dramatic, but it is the same disregard for other people's well being in action.

Seeing so many relatives quit smoking, I know that it is hard and I greatly respect the daily battle of those of you who have done it. I also appreciate those who go to lengths to reduce their impact on other people so they can feed their addiction. But to say that being concerned about second and third hand smoke is some trumped up whim of people with an agenda to vilify smokers is simply and utterly self-indulgent nonsense.