It is the popular consensus that ex-smokers are the most annoying non-smokers. The theory is that since we ex-smokers have successfully quit, we think EVERYONE should. We are considered judgmental and overly critical of smokers for not having the ability to commit to quitting. On top of that, we complain more than any other non-smokers.
Well, I won’t completely negate these accusations. I am most definitely an obnoxious ex-smoker. I’m always quick to bitch and moan if I feel someone is smoking too near to me. I hate being forced to breathe in cigarette smoke.
I won’t let anyone smoke in my house, certainly not in my car, and if there is an option as to smoking or non-smoking seating in a restaurant, I am totally inflexible. Add to all this the fact that I am a native New Yorker (yeah that’s right, I’ve been a NY Yankees fan since I was eight, deal with it) and it seems a foregone conclusion that I feel I have the right to complain.
But here’s the thing: I don’t really give a hoot if people want to smoke. Hell, it’s not like those of you who smoke don’t know that cigarettes are bad for you, right? It’s none of my business if you choose to smoke, just as it’s none of your business if I want to eat Oreos or drink tequila. In the end, we all have the right to do whatever the hell we want to do with our lives, right?
Right, but only until what you are doing interferes with my life. Now listen up: I did not support, in any way, a smoke-free campus when it was proposed. I voted against it, with no hesitation. Again, it is not for me to say who can or cannot smoke, even on our campus. But I don’t think that I am being unreasonable here. You smokers should have the right to smoke. We non-smokers should have the right to not be forced to inhale your second-hand smoke.
My point? There is no other way for students to get into the academic buildings other than the doorways. We can’t scale walls and enter through windows; we don’t have underground passageways to use. We all must enter through the same doorways. The problem is, more often than not, those doorways can only be reached after walking through a cloud of noxious cigarette smoke. For whatever reason, you smokers always seem to stand a few feet from the entrances and just light up.
I am not saying USM should be smoke-free. However, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that people NOT stand near the entrances to the buildings while they are smoking. At that point, my rights are being pushed aside by someone else’s, someone with an option.
And it seems pretty simple to simply paint a 50-foot perimeter around the entranceways and establish them as smoke-free zones, don’t you think? All it would mean is that smokers would have to make sure they smoke outside of that area. That leaves a LOT of smoke-friendly space that we non-smokers should stay out of if we are bothered by smoke.
So am I a typical ex-smoker? Well, yes and no. I am definitely a pain in the ass when it comes to people smoking around me. I hate the smell and have no problem with letting people know I feel that way.
But I am not under some delusion that quitting is easy for everyone. I don’t argue that people need to quit smoking. I just want to have the option of not having to breathe in your smoke every time I go to class.