Note to self...you need to learn to keep your mouth shut! My husband tells me all the time that I need to try not to make people upset who cook our food and know where we live. He's a police officer, so I'm sure he's seen his share of people retaliating. I, on the other hand, always think telling people how it is in a nice way is what's called a "teachable" moment.
So a couple weeks ago a guy came to our door offering to cut our half-dead tree in our front yard down for a very reasonable price. My husband said he would talk to me about it and that he should come back. The next day the guy came back to the door, cigarette in hand, asking if we made up our mind. He had no problem blowing smoke in my face, on MY front porch. He was talking about the tree and waving that nasty smoking stick around in the air. I told him I wasn't interested right now and kept my mouth shut about the cigarette.
The tree guy just came back a few minutes ago. He asked if we had made our decision. I said that we had decided we would look into another company. He said "but I could get it out of there right now and take it with me today". I told him that, actually, we decided on another company after he came to our door smoking. He apologized profusely and said he has been "trying not to do that". I told him that I had a lung disease and breathing clean air is not a choice, but a necessity for me. I kindly told him that it offended me that he thought it was appropriate to smoke on my dwelling. He apologized again and off he went.
As soon as I shut the door I started kicking myself. I have NEVER, ever been able to get through to a smoker by sharing my story. I think I probably look too well on the outside and their addiction is probably too strong to REALLY hear what they already know. Even with some family members, I have never been able to create a "teachable moment" when it comes to smoking. It gets me angry that people born with healthy lungs would make a choice to destroy them. It angers me that those lungs will not be available for future transplants for me or any of my hundreds of friends with CF who could someday use them for a second chance at life. Although there is some controversy about this issue, it frustrates me that sometimes smokers lungs are transplanted, and this could be a factor in a post-transplant patients death. Something similar to this happened a couple months ago in the UK.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/transplant-patient-dies-receiving-smokers-lungs/story?id=10920607
I am very much in support of people having rights. I believe people have the right to smoke. I wish they didn't, but they have the right. However, I have rights too. I have the right to answer my door without a huge plume of smoke entering my breathing space. I have the right to enjoy dinner out with my family without having to breathe in someones polluted exhale. Thank goodness smoking in public buildings was outlawed in Ohio years ago! I truly think that people who smoke should be mindful of the consequences to others and be considerate when finding a place to smoke.
I feel like I need everyone to know that if anything happens to me, tell the cops to look for the tree guy...ha!!! The tree guy with two missing front-teeth did it ;-)
12 comments:
Just have to say, agree with everything you said, EXCEPT the CF that got Smokers lungs story.
The CF woman that got smokers lungs and passed away, died of pnumonia, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact the lungs belonged to a smoker. The lungs she got, passed all the tests needed to say they were healthy enough for transplant, and her death was caused by pnumonia, a completely common complication after Transplant, and one ive seen many CF's get after Tx :-)
Hey - I am all for sharing the no smoking. In fact we had our garage sale and someone came cigarette in hand walking through our stuff in the driveway. Andy freaked out wanting to go inside because he had read second hand smoke is worse. Adam just up and made a No Smocing (nice spelling, huh?) sign and hung it on his drink stand. They were appalled - out of the mouths of babes!
I completely agree! All of my family smokes. Even my parents. We have no smoking in public places here in KY now too. & I have to hear everybody, even my family bitch about it! I'm like HELLO. For years, I could never go to the bowling ally. Now I finally can. Now I dont have to walk through the smoking section at a restraunt to get to the non-smoking section & it's great!
I totally agree with you! I have several family members and good friends who smoke all while I sit there on continuous O2 and I just don't understand how they can do that to themselves...what I wouldn't do to have the lung capacity they have and they just throw it away and take it for granted.
Hehe, sounds like the rant I did a while back: http://www.cffatboy.com/2010/06/fatboys-great-personal-bigotry-smokers/
*applause*
You handled that much nicer than I probably would have! That is my biggest pet peeve and I don't stand for it for even a second. I will sit in public places, where I'm being forced to move to other benches because of smoke, and rant to the nearest person about the dangers of smoking, to themselves and others, and how inconsiderate the smokers are. I'm honestly nicer about it than ^^that^^ sounds, but I'm still pretty blunt.
Props to you for refusing his service. Maybe it got through to him that it's losing him business.
Ha ha ha ha! So nice to know someone else capitalizes on the many teachable moments out there too :). Kindred spirit!
Preach it, Cysta!
<-------- Smoke Free 19 months now :)
I totally agree with everything you said Stacey. I constantly poke fun of my coworkers who choose out of their own volition, to ruin their healthy lungs. It is their right, but they do not have the right to ruin mine- by blowing smoke my way. In high school it might have been the “in” thing to smoke, but you would think these people would grow out of it by now. I mean, smoking is a terribly expensive habit, and especially if they are chain smokers. Not to mention it is disgusting as all hell. And portrays a negative image. I mean can you imagine if the President of the US gave a press conference with a Marlboro dangling from his mouth?
Blogger allowed me to comment on your post today! Hooray!
I particularly agree with the last paragraph. People have the right to smoke, but YOU have the right to common courtesy. Way to stick up for yourself.
I'll send out an APB if I haven't heard or read from you in a while. :-)
Soooo glad you're all with me on this one! Annie, great job on 9 months smoke free!!!
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