Since childhood I’ve been exposed to secondhand smoke. It’s painfully affected my life in many ways and has made it extremely difficult to cope and function. Fortunately, I adapted a natural living lifestyle and I’m not as bad as I used to be. Please learn how you too can help to fight this monster and hopefully save the lives of those dear to you!
When I was 10 years old, older family members smoked around me like chimneys. Smoking was still not considered deadly or anti-social. It’s a miracle I survived the exposure. My stepgrandmother (my stepmom’s mother) smoked until I was 16 then quit after I pleaded with her. After being smoke-free for a few years, she went back, then became ill with cancer. To my surprise, they actually prohibited a dear friend of theirs from smoking in their house because they were sensitive. A few years later, she was given a death sentence, began taking chemo and radiation, and then was buried, which is the normal conventional route most people take when enduring this type of illness.
During my childhood, at school and on my free time, I was consistently exposed to smoke and was even offered cigarettes by people my own age. Back then I had no idea what a horrific nightmare and epidemic cigarette smoking was and I had no idea what my future held. Almost everyday a kid or adult would try to push smoking on me like it was a hot social habit. Of course, with all the cigarette ads and commercials and buildboards pushing the poison, people weren’t empowered enough to say no to the stuff.
Around the same time, I was being exposed to my grandmother and uncle’s smoking. As a young girl, it wasn’t right or appropriate for me to raise a stink or to make them stop. In my family, everyone was neurotic, and they were in denial that anyone of them had any problems. I had to wear a smiley face and pretend everything was fine. Meanwhile, my lungs and bronchial system were being tortured and there was nothing I could do about it. I was also exposed to the smoke of people throughout the city I didn’t know and was forced to breathe smokers’ breath of passersby. The many years of exposure to smoke affected my health in a significant way, but no one wanted to acknowledge or admit there was a problem. Because I was a young girl, my elders didn’t want to even think that maybe I was being affected. It also didn’t help that younger people were treated as second class citizens, so, my voice didn’t matter anyway.
Ten years later, I’ve suffered immense losses that have caused tremendous pain and grief. A few years ago, my grandmother’s lung cancer killed her. A few years after that, her son contracted lung cancer. Then, it spread to his brain. When I was 16, my stepmother’s mother died from lung cancer. They all went the conventional medicine route, took chemo and radiation.
The only thing that is left is my painful memory. Everytime I pass someone with a cigarette or cigar, and have to breathe the smoke, I see their faces and know the pain may never leave my body or my mind. When I see the ads on TV educating people on the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke, I feel comfort. I’m grateful to know that I’m not alone in my fight and organizations are doing everything they can to end this nightmare.
Today, I still have health problems from the secondhand smoke, but due to my vegan whole food chemical-free aware lifestyle, I’m not suffering as much as I used to or as much as I could. This is a very serious, painful issue, but nothing will change unless caring serious people like myself speak up and do what they can to make a difference. Smoking is a deadly disgusting habit and people should do everything in their power to make their loved ones kick the habit. There’s nothing sexy or empowering about smoking, and there is nothing to be admired either. I think it’s abhorrant and disgusting the way many people and the companies try to glorify this disgusting nasty habit. I don’t know how anyone can glorify such a stupid ugly habit. There’s nothing sexy or beautiful about taking a paper rolled with tobacco, lighting it, then smoking it and igniting your lungs and blood cells with carcinogens.
I know there are many reasons people smoke. The biggest reason would have to be stress. It seems like very few people in this world are fortunate enough to be stress-free, but that doesn’t mean they have to stay that way or not experience any relief. I know about stress because my life is very stressful. I live in a major city that’s been considered to be in the Top 10 of having highest rate of pollution and stress. There are things that can be done to help cope and alleviate the stress. Although I’m not a physician and am not about to make claims, I can certainly recommend natural remedies to combat discomfort. I think when people say they can’t kick the habit or don’t know what to do to stop, they don’t know where to turn and think they’ve run out of options.
My husband and I use 100% natural organic essential oils for everyday health concerns. We also use them to smell nice and energize.
In today’s day and age, with so many methods and modalities of healing and health maintenance, it is awful that people still feel so succumbed to the nasty habit. I wish I had been strong enough to get my grandmother and uncle to stop. Maybe we’d have a few more years together.