whitewillow

Wheather driving down the road or walking by the beach, i am always attracted to the butts I see along the way.  I understand the right to do as we please, and to allow the freedoms so necessary to life in the USA, however, the butts I am referring to are the brown, nasty stems of cigarettes that linger long after the smoker has discarded them into what I can only imagine as “the ashtray of the USA”.

I notice piles of butts lining the streets at traffic lights.  I notice the sidewalk of the beach I frequent for daily exercise littered as well.  I found twenty three butts on my property yesterday, and I do not even smoke.

These dirty little pieces of somebody’s bad habit tend to linger in time and ooze of the stale aroma of nicotine.  They seep unhealthy particles into our environment and basically never disintergrate.

In a time when health has taken a new perpective and a realization of how harmful smoking actually is for the health and wellness of our people, I am confused as to “why” people are so willing to share their smoking habit with those of us who do not appreciate the debris. 

I fully comprehend I have absolutely no rights in terms of creating a clean, healthy environment for my family when my neighbor prefers to have parties where there are tens of people smoking regularly.  I understand that it is fate that the wind will carry the smoke into my many open windows during the summer and erradicate the health quality of my living space.  I respect that my neighbor has the right to disregard my request that he move the smoking section to the opposite side of his outdoor living area to coincides with other smokers.  So what is a health conscious person to do?

I find the hardest times are when I am considering how to keep my family free from upper respiratory distress.  With these health problems already a factor, I find awareness and purpose are not enough.  Clearly there must be an effective way to communicate to the masses that smoking does not just affect themselves and their lives.  In fact, when people smoke in a car on a warm day with the windows down, the smoke is transfered to the surrounding cars.  When people smoke outdoors, their habit overrides the choices of a nonsmoker and takes the smoke free persons liberties away. 

I have no qualms with people choosing to smoke, I merely would like to find a solution to employ a means for those of us who prefer to keep our lungs pink and optimally productive, the environmental support to do so.

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