Take, for example, an ex-smoker. It can take years to quit. They will find every excuse and justification in the book, and then some! But, after they finally bite the bullet and quit, they become worse than non-smokers;) They will often be the ones to complain the loudest when someone is smoking within a 100 metre radius of them. I think it's because they have realised just how intrusive and selfish a habit it can be, and they are secretly very mad at themselves for taking so long to realise it. My theory is that, every time they berate a current smoker they are, in fact, berating themselves;)
When I was in my teens I smoked for a while. I enjoyed it too! I was an incredibly shy, incredibly unsure of myself, little girl and smoking gave me a false sense of confidence; something to do with my hands when I felt completely lost or exposed, which was often. Its crazy, isn't it? I was a singer and the state of my voice was a constant concern to me and yet I allowed myelf to damage it with cigarette smoke. One day, thank goodness, I found some common sense and I just stopped.
After that, I had the same epiphany that all other ex-smokers had. I realised that all smokers reeked, no matter how much gum they chewed, and that they had yellow teeth and fingers, bad skin and a constant, hacking cough. It literally controlled their lives. Its so ironic because smokers seem to ooze confidence. Just look at the camel man;)
I've always thought that most smokers look sexy and "together", but I know that, in reality, they are a little shaky and unsure of themselves, even if it's subconsciously. Why? Because they are addicts at the end of the day, and their comfort and security depends on a little white stick and how often they will be able to get up close and personal with it. I feel terribly sorry for smokers. They may have made the choice to light up in the first place, but, after that, their right to choose was taken away from them. Cigarettes are harder to quit than heroin!
I've always thought that most smokers look sexy and "together", but I know that, in reality, they are a little shaky and unsure of themselves, even if it's subconsciously. Why? Because they are addicts at the end of the day, and their comfort and security depends on a little white stick and how often they will be able to get up close and personal with it. I feel terribly sorry for smokers. They may have made the choice to light up in the first place, but, after that, their right to choose was taken away from them. Cigarettes are harder to quit than heroin!
I can't really give advice on HOW to quit. There are so many WHYS. But I don't think focusing on THEIR health as a smoker is what is going to give them pause to reflect. I've heard so many justifications and excuses as to why someone isn't quitting YET and the reality is that a smoker doesn't actually want to quit. They aren't concerned for their health and telling them that it's bad for their bodies won't make a difference. They are in complete denial about what it's doing to them and, because they don't value their bodies, (how can you if you willingly abuse it) telling them it's not good for them will wash off them like water off a duck's back. But, while smokers may have little regard for their own bodies, they DO tend to have plenty regard for the bodies of those they love.
So this is what smoking does to those you love:
Partners of smokers:
Passive smokers have a much higher risk of cancer and heart disease if they are exposed to other people smoking for long periods of time. The risk of developing lung cancer is increased by about 20-30% in people who are regularly exposed to other people's cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke is also an irritant, and can make asthma and other conditions worse. Standing at a window and holding your cigarette out of it doesn't make any difference. Enough smoke blows back in to have a lasting, and devastating effect.
What most smokers don't realise is that their choice to smoke, while a serious health threat to them, is an even worse health threat to their partner. A cigarette has a filter on the end of it for the smoker, to remove some of the toxins, but the passive smoker is breathing in the chemical-laden, unfiltered, raw, toxic smoke from the other end all the time. They chose NOT to smoke, because they value their health and their bodies, but a smoker's habit is directly affecting their loved ones freedom of choice to be clean and smoke-free.
Pets of smokers (you didn't think they were somehow immune did you?):
Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have seriously negative effects on the nervous systems of cats and dogs. Tobacco smoke contains numerous cancer-causing compounds, making it JUST as toxic for animals as it is for humans. We share a lot of the same physiology so it makes sense that, what hurts us, would hurt them. They are just as at risk for cancer and heart disease. Animals are also particularly susceptible to "third-hand smoke" which not many people know about.
Third-hand smoke is an invisible but toxic mix of gases and particles that attach themselves to smokers’ hair and clothing, cars, and carpeting (that lovely Eau de Ashtray that tends to cling to a smoker!) and it lingers long after the visible second-hand smoke has cleared the room.
A Harvard study actually found pets to be uniquely susceptible to this toxic cocktail of poisons. The reason is that, not only are they breathing the smoke-filled air, but they are also lying on the carpet and furniture, and on your lap and picking up anything clinging to it and absorbing it into their skin. Then, to make matters worse, the animal will groom themselves and ingest whatever is clinging to their fur.
In a lot of households, especially during winter, your animals can’t get away from smoky air meaning that they become victims of your habits (and opening a window is not enough.)
Children of smokers:
- Are more prone to asthma, and ear, nose and chest infections
- Have an increased risk of dying from cot death (sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS)
- Are more likely than average to become smokers themselves when older
- On average, do less well at reading and reasoning skills compared to children in smoke-free homes, even at low levels of smoke exposure
- Are at increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer as adults
- Small children are also uniquely susceptible to third-hand smoke for a lot of the reasons that pets are
If you thought all that was bad, what about the effect it has on the environment:
Researchers estimate that 1.7 billion pounds of cigarette butts accumulate in lakes and oceans and on beaches and the rest of the planet every year! These cigarette butts contain the same dangerous chemicals contained in a cigarette, including carcinogens and other poisons.
Globally, about 4.3 trillion cigarette butts litter the earth every year. Smokers in America contribute more than 250 billion cigarette butts to that number. The UK contributes 200 tons of butts, and Australian smokers, more than 7 billion cigarette butts every year. In most Western countries cigarette butt litter accounts for approximately 50 percent of ALL litter. The problem is that smokers don't even really think of cigarette butts as litter. They casually throw them out of car windows and flick them over walls without a second thought as to what happens then. Yet most of them wouldn't think of doing that with a colddrink can. Why are a lot of smokers in such denial?
We don’t live in a vacuum. I've said it a few times. The choices we make have a way of trickling down to others, and it's often the people we love. Unless you're a sociopath, you don't MEAN to harm your family, your pets, the wildlife and the environment by smoking but, sadly, that’s exactly what you're doing. It's not rocket science to make the connection between the cigarette butt you flick out your car window and the cigarette filters found in the stomachs of fish and birds who mistake them for food.
Besides the actual cigarette butts, there is also the issue of the smoke which, besides being breathed in by those around you, is also ending up in an environment already overloaded with toxic chemicals. When you drive out of Johannesburg and look back, all you see is a dirty, grey, mushroom-shaped fog over the whole city. Not all of that is from factories and vehicles.
The air pollution from cigarettes is 10 times greater than car exhaust fumes. Cigarette smoke produces fine particulate matter, which is the most dangerous element of air pollution when it comes to health. Amazingly, the levels indoors can be even greater than those outdoors, because new cars and lead free petrol have cut the levels of particulate matter from car exhausts. Factories also have strict regulations when it comes to emissions into the environment which means that your cigarette smoke is among the most toxic parts of the air pollution we live with on a daily basis. It doesn't just disappear when you put your cigarette out. in fact, it never EVER disappears.
That's the reality folks. I know a lot of people who smoke. Some of them are very close to me and they're people I love very much, but I don't love their habit and I can't condone it at all. Not when I know what it's doing to me and MY loved ones via second-hand smoke, and even my animals via third-hand smoke because who doesn't stroke a cat or dog when they come looking for love?
Just because I focused on smokers, doesn't mean I feel any less strongly about people who don't recycle, or who use chemicals in their house without a second thought for the environment and the impact it's having, or people who refuse to buy free-range without a thought for the animals. What kind of legacy are we leaving for our children and our children's children? What kind of planet are we going to be left with if something doesn't GIVE really soon. The penny needs to drop and it needs to drop YESTERDAY.
But I also know about mindset changes and about what it takes to become more conscious. I may be clean and green now but I also used to be ignorant about the part I was playing by not being conscious of my own personal impact on the world around me. That's the case for most people and it's fine, as long as it's only because you ARE simply unaware. However, once you HAVE been made aware, it is unforgivable NOT to act.
If you have read any of these blogs, then you are aware. That means its time to start living consciously.
Today looks as good a day as any, don't you think?
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