So. Smoking is an addiction. I understand this. It is tough to beat. I have every respect for people who are able to quit, but no respect for those who choose to smoke. I don't want to hear any of that'it's my body' crap. You are polluting the environment, you smell bad, you make ME cough, your car/house values are dropping, and you are generally contributing to the levels of allergies and illnesses in the general public. Wear a bubble if you want to smoke, because really, that is the only good solution.
Pregnant women have small babies, and say 'it is MY body', or 'if there is a problem with my baby, I will deal with it, it is not your issue'. Wrong. If there is a problem with your baby, it should be taken away, just like crack babies are taken away from their addicted mothers. Tobacco-born babies are more likely (much more likely) to develop asthma throughout their lifetimes, allergies to tons of things, have problems with dyslexia, etc. Tons of things. No one has the right to do that to their kids. Period.
Now, I know that as a non smoker who has never smoked I do not fully understand the power of a smoking addiction, but, to be hones, I DON'T CARE!! It is STUPID. SMOKING IS STUPID. It is KNOWN by EVERYONE that smoking throughout your lifetime WILL kill you. Maybe now, maybe later, maybe you will get hit by a truck instead and be spared a life of emphysema or COPD or some terrible cancer, but SMOKING WILL kill you eventually. This is a known fact. Not a guess, not an opinion, but fact. Smoking is bad for you. People say oh, but you drink, and that is bad for you so you are a hypocrite, but----Shut up!! Alcohol is actually GOOD for you in moderation. Small amounts have a BENEFIT for the body. Small amounts of nicotine are NOT good for you. No amount of nicotine is good for you. PERIOD. In this day and age, in this country, there is not a soul over the age of 5 who does not know/has not heard a million times that smoking is bad for you and will kill and/or incapacitate you.
Smokers struggle to quit. I know this. I have seen this. It can take 8 or more tries to get it done. Ethan's old boss smoked heavily, but found out he has serious heart problems, and guess what--he QUIT! I know Sabrina smoked and tried to quit several times, before finding out she was pregnant. And guess what--she QUIT! You have to be able to find something in your life to quit for. If your health and your life are not enough to do it, do it for your baby or your spouse or SOMETHING!
So, my original ranting started, as I said, because of my patient. I helped him up to the bathroom with a wheelchair, got him settled on the toilet, then came back 10 minutes later when he pulled the nurse light signalling that he was done. And the room is rolling in smoke. The guy flat out denied that he had been smoking. He said he threw a pack of cigarettes in the garbage, and maybe that is what I am smelling. Do I really look that stupid?? I smelled SMOKE SMOKED cigarettes. Not an unused pack of cigarettes. It has been explained to this particular person that we have OXYGEN running through the walls here for our patients to be hooked up to. Did you know that oxygen is FLAMMABLE?!!? It is. So he risked blowing up his roommate to have a cigarette. So stupid. Just irritates me. Quit, already! I have seen people lose LIMBS, as in CUT IT OFF because they wouldn't stop smoking, and that delays bone healing, so they end up with an unsalvageable foot. So stupid, so preventable.
Okay, off the soapbox for now. Just don't ever make the mistake of offering me a cigarette...............
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