Non-Smoker's Editorial

I just came back from a day of fun and games at Foxwoods. While I did not return with any extra money in my pockets, I did come back with something: second-hand cigarette smoke. Yuck.

This was our first time at Foxwoods and we were shocked at how poor the ventilation system was. We have gone to Mohegan Sun many times and never experienced that high a level of smoke assault. While we spent most of our time in the non-smoking section, we did have to walk through the smoker areas to get to food and shops. It was really unpleasant.

I have to wonder what makes a person smoke. I know that, as a teenager it's a kind of status-thing, being cool and all. As an adult, there just seems to be no reason whatsoever to smoke. It's smelly, ugly, expensive and can ruin your health.

One of my last memories of my dad is seeing him on his deathbed in the hospital. At the V.A. hospital in those days, patients were allowed to smoke. Here was my dad, dying of throat cancer, a huge hole in his throat. He sat in his bed, smoking. The smoke from the cigarette pouring out through the hole in his throat. I'm sure dad would be very sad if he knew that in that moment, he created such a painful and lasting image.

After a shower and washing my clothes, I can still smell the putrid odor of cigarettes. I have a slightly metallic flavor in my mouth that I can only attribute to the smoke. I can only imagine what the second-hand smoke has done to my lungs.

If you smoke, quit.

I'll get off my soapbox now.