Eating and Stinking

Author: Katie

Why can't I go out to eat without coming home congested and smelly? It's not bad food or body odor. It's cigarette smoke! I have two favorite resturaunts that I frequent for breakfast. I love the food and service. That's why I continue to give them my business. However, I don't eat at one of the places as much as the other because it doesn't have a no smoking section (not that it helps much to have one, but it does make it easier to breathe). I get up, take a shower, fix my hair, put on make-up and I go out to eat. I sit in the hazy resturaunt wondering if I should stay. As I wait for my food, I begin to smell and taste it. It's not the food I smell and taste. It's cigarette smoke. Soon, I begin to develop a headache. I manage to get through my meal and make a quick exit. When I get home, I still smell it! My head still hurts from polluted sinuses and the coughing begins. If I don' t take another shower, I have to smell and feel this way all day. I go to church and smell like smoke. That's okay though. Chances are, some of the non -smokers at church have eaten out that day and they smell bad too! Should I take comfort in that?

Anyhow, I used to be a smoker. I used to make people suffer like this. I used to go around smelling like they do. I have a relative thatl smokes and one day I commented to her, "I wonder if my breath smelled like that when I smoked." She replied, "Yes, it did." I am so glad I quit! But, now I stull run a risk of getting lung cancer because of all the second hand smoke and I recently heard on the news that second hand smoke is suspected for causing tooth decay. Yep. Apparantly, some experiments and studies have been done and the results were that children raised in homes where smokers lived, had a higher number of cavities. Who knows?

I understand that quitting is so difficult that some people would rather die than quit....and some do. That is a choice they make. I chose to quit. Yet I risk getting the same diseases that smokers risk because of those who don't care about the people they smoke around. They only care about getting their 'fix'.

Whether or not tests and studies are accurate, I know one thing for sure. SECOND HAND SMOKE STINKS! IT MAKES ME STINK! IT MAKES ME FEEL SICK! NOBODY SHOULD BE FORCED TO SMOKE! SMOKING SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED IN CLOSED IN PUBLIC PLACES! I should not have to suffer the consequences of somebody else's bad habit. I do not dislike people who smoke. I have close friends and relatives (like my parents) who smoke. I love them! However, I don't appreciate people who smoke without consideration to others who desire to breathe fresh air. I think it is very selfish for inconsiderate smokers to cause other people to suffer the consequences of their nasty habit. Talk about rights! Should smokers have the right to smoke where ever they want around whoever they want? Should non smokers have to step outside in order for smokers to have a cigarette? Think of how that would affect the retail business, hospitals........airplanes! Many places have made it illegal for people to smoke in public buildings. I applaud you! Much of the state I live in, however is a bit behind the rest of the world (surprise surprise). I think the fact that it is a major tobacco producing region may have something to do with it, who knows?

Regardless, I have a right to choose not to smoke. I chose that 12 years ago. Yet, this right is taken from me when I am forced to breathe smoke against my will simply because I want to eat out on occasion. What's wrong with this picture????

There, I finally spoke my peace. I've been wanting to do this for a long time.

(I'm in trouble again aren't I?)