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[gasp] [cough] A smoker just came and took some stuff from my desk. I can't breathe. Don't they know how much they reek? I mean, really, if other people didn't bathe or something, the smokers would whine about it, but they're allowed to waft their stench wherever they go and we're not allowed to say anything about it or they start to rant about their rights. I think that my right to breathe overrides their right to smoke. Thank god we don't have smoking in public places any longer. Some sanity, at last.
Ah yes, let the smokers go outside. Outside is free, isn't it? No one can complain if the smokers go outside, can they? Such a joy it is, then, to see their faces as they cluster out in the cold, hovering around the doors to the building, bitter in their exile, and breathing the foul smoke of vengeance upon all who would dare to venture through their mass into the warm climes within. I wonder, when I see them, how a client might see the outside of such an office building.. how daunting must seem the task of seeking passage through this oppressive cloud in order to pursue one's business interests within. And then, oh! The purest of delights as you share a lift ride up to the 30th floor, smokers to the left of you, smokers to the right, each reeking away with his or her own degree of stench, a tapestry of rank perfume lingering on their breath, clothes, and hair.. Of course, they do get off your lift at the 22nd floor, but luckily for you, the smell stays long after, entrenched now firmly in your clothes, so that you can enjoy it over and over again. And indeed, who hasn't experienced that delightful moment leaving the building, when the lift doors close with you inside, and you realise that the lift in which you have the fortune to spend the next long minutes has recently been vacated by a herd of smokers freshly returned from a smoke break. Hold your breath on the way down, for that smell lingers, yes it does. And like cheap cologne it will cling to you for dear life as you leave the lift. Cigarette smoke. It's the gift that keeps on giving. And give it does.. asthma, cancer, headaches- the list goes on. For myself, the smell of smoke makes me extremely sick, and for an encore, it triggers a migraine. But at least no one's rights are being violated by letting them smoke outside, are they? And that's what matters most.
Let's look at it this way: we all need air. We share the air. When someone pollutes the air, they don't just affect themselves, they affect all of us. I shouldn't have to suffer because you choose to smoke. It's a choice that you make, but you make it for both of us, and I don't trust you with my life because frankly, smokers are selfish. If you've ever worked in retail, you've probably had that customer who doesn't know what a shower is. The one who comes in and reeks so badly you feel very, very ill. That's what smokers smell like. But they don't realise it because cigarettes kill your senses.. your sense of smell, your sense of taste just become dull. And you're accustomed to that smell, so you don't notice it. But believe me, others do. I've had times when I've had to find a coworker who smokes and ask him/her to help a customer because I simply can't stand to talk to him, his stench is so strong. It's offensive. There's no good side to smoking, and there are a lot of bad sides. I can't count the number of times I've had to move from one desk to another at work because the person next to me has just returned from a smoke break and is reeking contentedly away at their desk. It turns my stomach.
Now, for a moment, let's put the disgusting part aside. The health issues alone make smoking insane. Cigarettes are forty times as addictive as heroin. I don't know about you, but I don't want the tobacco companies to have that kind of control over my life. And then, look what you're inhaling:
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arsenic: used in rat poison.
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benzene: causes cancer. Also, benzene poisoning, when it gets into bone marrow, can cause leukemia. Used in making dyes and synthetic rubber.
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ammonia: household cleaner. Toxic, of course.
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formaldehyde: used for preserving corpses. Enough said there, I think.
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cyanide: everyone knows that this is a deadly poison.
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carbon monoxide: car exhaust fumes. Obviously, it kills you.
But that's not all! You also get:
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Angelica root extract: Known to cause cancer in animals
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Butane: Gas; used in lighter fluid
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Cadmium: Used in batteries
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DDT: A banned insecticide
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Ethyl Furoate: Causes liver damage in animals
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Lead: Poisonous in high doses
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Methoprene: Insecticide
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Megastigmatrienone: Chemical naturally found in grapefruit juice. Didn't expect that, did you? What else are you getting that you don't know about?
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Maltitol: Sweetener for diabetics
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Napthalene: Ingredient in mothballs
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Methyl isocyanate: Its accidental release killed 2000 people in Bhopal, India in 1984
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Polonium: Cancer-causing radioactive element
But wait! There's more! What else are you inhaling? Just click here to have a look. You're not going to read it, are you? But even if you don't, just look how many there are...
Honestly, everyone knows that smoking will kill you, and yet dozens of teens start every day. Let's look at some of the other factors:
appearance: In a world where everyone is concerned about looking younger and more attractive, it's just weird that people would voluntarily consume chemicals that make them look older. Cigarettes also cause the collagen and elastin in your skin to break down, causing premature wrinkles. Smoking elevates DHT levels, causing hair loss, particularly in men.
parental: did you know that nicotine can cause seizures, vomiting, depressions of the central nervous system, growth retardation, developmental toxicity in fetuses, and preterm birth with reduced body weight and brain development in animals. Did you know, mothers, that in its attempts to get rid of the stuff, your body will excrete nicotine in breast milk? So it isn't enough to not smoke around your baby. You have to not smoke at all.
I consider it social Darwinism if the smokers kill themselves. If you're stupid enough to decide to voluntarily poison yourself, that's your problem. But don't poison my air.
For those people who doubt that second-hand smoke is harmful (and there are people who actually believe that), check this out.
"Bottom line: Smoking will kill you. What part of that do you not understand?"
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