For the most part I am staying home. From time to time though I have to attend the grocery store.
On a couple of occasions now just in the past two weeks someone or a group of people have been smoking close to the entrance of the grocery stores.
For most people this is a minor inconvenience done by inconsiderate people.
But for me, even the small exposure caused by passing quickly by them causes my lungs to hurt and for the better part of a week the pain and the bodies efforts to remove the toxins from my lungs continue.
The smoke lingers after the smoker leaves, so the after presence of a smoker still causes problems though not as bad as direct exposure.
Sometimes my vehicle is not parked close to the entrance of the store and I find that someone is sitting in their vehicle smoking near my vehicle.
If I see it before I park then I park somewhere else, but sometimes they light their cigarette just before I come out of the store. Often times I try to hold my breath long enough to pass the offending toxins. But the more people do it the less my lung capacity is, and my ability to hold my breath falters.
Today I stepped out of my vehicle right near the door of the grocery store.
And as I am walking I see a woman about to light her cigarette and I asked her politely not to, explaining that I have asthma and that her lighting that cigarette will cause me breathing problems.
She said, “I haven’t lit it yet.” And I said again, “please don’t, please take it somewhere else. It is not necessary for you to have that cigarette right here, right now.”
I asked her to get in her vehicle and take the cigarette elsewhere. I watched from the store as she proceeded to light her cigarette.
So my quick grocery store stop turned into something I have to linger at while I wait for her to stop smoking and for the air to clear, increasing my exposure to community virus spread.
The bottom line is, they cause me breathing problems that are not quickly or easily resolved.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could create a smoker’s culture that causes smokers to deliberately not smoke in places where other people are. I don’t care if they are outside in the open air, it still harms me.
These days it is not just rude – it is dangerous.
Carol Campbell,
Red Deer County
