The weekend is almost over, it's Sunday evening and as usual I made errands earlier, came home, fixed food for me and Chhaya and later on we went for a walk. She is sleeping now, dreaming and kicking her legs, curled up body to body with me. I've been feeling queasy all day. A sick feeling, like nausea and a faint lingering headache. I know exactly what it stems from - smoke exposure. I feel like this on a regular basis after an evening at work. The club here is awful, almost everybody is a heavy smoker and the ventilation is really bad.
There have been times when it's so smoky in the club that I am looking for air pockets so I can breathe. I have to fan the air in front of my face so I can take a breath that doesn't taste like smoke. Of course this is not healthy. To prove my point even more a girl I work with, a non smoker too, told me that she recently went in for a physical. She told the doctor that she is a non smoker but the test results came back saying that she is a smoker. Unbelievable!
The club here in town is the only place where she gets subjected to secondhand smoke and it's obviously so severe that the test results done on her as part of a physical say that she is a smoker. That test result lead to her having to pay more for her insurance. Is this right? Absolutely not. The club should pay that increase, not her.
I think it is extremely irresponsible and selfish of business owners to allow smoking inside their establishments. It's 2015 and everybody knows, or should know how BAD smoking is for your own health if you happen to smoke AND for the people that get exposed to secondhand smoke. It's one thing if you don't care about your health but do not poison other people's health with your cigarettes. That is just WRONG. If you think I am exaggerating do your own research about smoking, secondhand smoke and health, there is plenty to read on the subject.
To prove this point even more, I listened to a radio show earlier this afternoon. Info Track I think it's called and they talked about smoking, health and smoke bans. A professor from University of California San Francisco said that recent studies show that there are a significant amount less cases of heart attacks, strokes and asthma directly related to smoking and exposure to smoke in places where there is a strong ban on smoking. Less visits to the hospital for serious issues like these mean a lesser cost on society, millions are saved.
A stroke is serious business. It's nothing that I aspire to ever have to go through. About half of the country is now covered under strong smoking laws and I really hope the other half follows in that direction. Yes, I get it. It's not easy to quit smoking supposedly. The professor on Info Track said nicotine is more addicting than heroin and cocaine. I don't know, I never been addicted to any substances. But I don't want to feel like I do today on a regular basis because of other people's bad habits. My body is telling me it's poisoned. Sure, it's my choice to work in the club but the way I look at it, it is the club (owner/s) that needs to get with the times and realize that they need to ban smoking. Many other businesses here in town banned smoking already, businesses like restaurants and bars. And they got very positive responses. They obviously cared enough about their employees and the customers that do not smoke and actually smokers are a minority but they seem like a majority here on the Kenai Peninsula. You can still cater to the smokers, build a smoking area outside. It's simple to do. I know that some people don't like to go to the club because of the smoke, I also know smokers that think it's way too smoky in there, so imagine how it feels for non smokers then. And I also know of girls that work a night or a few but then decide that the smoke is too much and don't come back. It would not surprise me if non smokers will start suing the places they work at where smoking is allowed if they develop health problems due to the smoke.
It's easy to say "don't go there if you don't like the smoke"......sure, until YOU or somebody you love gets a stroke, heart attack or lung cancer caused by cigarettes. Then you will understand that health is priceless and you will most like regret all those cigarettes you enjoyed over the years.
I found an article that talks about strip clubs and smoking and I think it brings up many good points and facts. Yeah, smoking is GROSS. It feels so outdated, definitely NOT trendy.
It's time to get with the times and ban smoking in public places. Do whatever you want in the privacy of your home but if you do smoke, I hope that you are smart enough to keep that secondhand smoke away from your kids AND pets (if you have any).
Read the article I referred to
here