It is a perfect case of what is old is new again but there have been some interesting developments in the “No Smoking” debate. For those of you who have been off the planet for the last few decades, the changes in smoking methods, locations and materials has changed and is continuing to change. I assumed that once municipal bylaws had established the rules as to where smokers could light up, all would settle down with the smokers grumbling about being regulated and the non-smokers breathing a healthy sigh of relief. Wrong!
Art by Dale "bushy" BushI am old enough to remember a time when it seemed that most people smoked whenever and wherever they wanted, including the doctor’s office with the doctor smoking during an examination (for shortness of breath). I recall an old hockey coach of mine that would have been difficult to recognize if there wasn’t a ciggy hanging from the left side of his mouth, right where he eventually had oral cancer…hmmm.
There used to be ashtrays on the city and Greyhound buses and not just for the driver but at every seat. Our old school bus driver, Miss Anne, could not keep two hands on her steering wheel because she was constantly flicking the ash from her Export A with her right hand, always with her right hand. I wonder why I can remember that… maybe I knew the danger of distracted driving even as a good looking and intelligent child.
My parents smoked and I grew up thinking it was a grown-up thing to do, so I tried smoking when I was a good looking and intelligent (so I thought) eight-year-old. My Dad smoked filter-less Players cigarettes because, “Filters are for sissies and women.” So, not wanting to be either, I swiped one of his ciggys and hid out between the garage and the fence and lit up. I seem to recall the adult joy of smoking that first inhale and then the terror as I exploded from my lungs with parts of my body, my brain I think, being forcefully expelled from other parts of my body. Brains and lungs (snot) were blown out of both nostrils, both ears, both eyes and of course my big fat smarty mouth. I decided that was enough and tossed the still lit cigarette into the corner and went to be distracted somewhere else.
You guessed it, I caused a good part of our fence and garage to be burnt, before the firemen doused the flames and discovered the obvious source of the fire. My punishment was to smoke a whole cigarette while my dad smoked one, puff for puff which turned me a shade of green that could be compared to Rider’s green. For that reason, I avoided the urge to smoke until the early 70s and by then there was something other than tobacco to smoke, so I succumbed to peer pressure, wink wink. With cannabis being legal now and electronic cigarettes being increasingly popular, especially with teenagers, it re-opens up this “smoking” discussion in municipalities everywhere.
If you have an opinion on this forever debateable topic let your city council know by either attending one of the town hall sessions or, as in our community, an online survey. Yay or nay we all have a say!
