Friday, February 8, 2013

Smokers Need Not Apply

I've made it pretty clear in my posts that I'm a non-smoker. I'm allergic to smoke. I cough, I hack, I CAN'T BREATHE when I get near cigarette smoke.

So why is it, when I sit on a bench that is clear of smoke, that someone either decides to light one up, or worse, someone sits down close to me and lights one up? It happens all the time. At the bus transfer station when I'm waiting for a bus and they're NOT ALLOWED to smoke, on a bench while I wait for the library to open, at any bus stop where there's more than just me waiting, etc.

The latest statistics I've seen about smokers tell me that about a third of Americans smoke. So why is it that I get saddled with these inconsiderate jerks ALL THE TIME?

I'll tell you: It's because there are more poor, undereducated people who smoke than who don't smoke. So the people who can't afford a car and have to take the bus are more likely to smoke. The people who go to the library because they don't have a computer at home or worse don't have a home are more likely to smoke.

And the worst part is, they don't care that I cough and hack when they light up. They don't care that they could get a $200 ticket for lighting up in Moore Square. They try to hide it from the 'police' that enforce the ban. And the police don't seem to care much either, so smoking is on the rise there.

All because people don't care about how their smoking affects others.

Of all the living things that God has created in all of eternity, tobacco is the worst.

You can quote me on that.

Michael Harrison Fox


No comments:

Post a Comment