Cancer Sticks And Kids Don’t Mix • 06.16.08
As I was walking to work this morning I saw a young woman pushing a stroller while she was smoking. I noticed this from behind (but was luckily far enough away that the smoke did not affect me) and could only see the telltale line of smoke whirling around her head and drifting like powdery snow down to where I could assume a small child was sitting. This woman was puffing and puffing away, almost flaunting her filthy and death-causing habit to passersby.
I had to stifle my outrage, biting my lower lip so hard that I was sure I would draw blood any second. If someone chooses to smoke and damage their own lungs, fine. I don’t agree with that decision but I’m not going to try to convince you to stop. However, if you allow your disregard for health to influence another human being, and in this case a human being that is not old enough to either move away or voice their own objection, I feel nothing but hatred for you.
I have asthma. Whenever I find myself walking behind someone who is smoking I suddenly cannot breathe. I have to force myself to sprint past the offender so the smoke will no longer clog my throat and make me dizzy. I grew up with parents who smoked all the time and I always had to rush into another room when they lit up. Smokers should be ostracized from society completely when they partake in their disgusting and harmful behavior. On a recent roadtrip I was appalled that restaurants in other states still have smoking sections, at least one of which I had to cross through to reach the restroom of the establishment. I guess I was spoiled growing up in New York where smoking is outlawed in public spaces. However I know that I will never be able to stop people from smoking on the streets and I just have to keep my laces tied tight for the inevitable sprinting I will have to do in a vain attempt to save my lungs.
Today was different. Today a defenseless small child was being subjected to harmful smoke. In my mind that’s abuse. I know others feel differently, but I think intentionally exposing a child to dangerous chemicals is wrong. I wanted to run up to this woman and shake some sense into her, but I didn’t because I hate confrontation and didn’t want to be prosecuted for some sort of assault.
I continued to feel bad for the baby that I knew was suffering in that stroller as the woman wheeled towards the bus stop on my left and turned sideways to board the approaching Silver Line. For the first time I got a look at both the woman’s and the baby’s faces. The woman was seemingly of hispanic descent, dark hair and eyes and a brown (but not African-American) complexion. The baby couldn’t have been more than a year old and was as Aryan as they come with pale white skin, bright blue eyes and so blond it’s almost white hair. This made me wonder if this woman was this child’s mother or perhaps his babysitter/nanny.
Yes, it’s possible that she was the child’s mother, but highly unlikely in my book, even if the father was Mr. White America himself. Maybe the child was adopted, that’s certainly plausible. Even in these cases my outrage is sustained because parents should protect their children, not harm them with their own behavior.
But if this woman was the child’s nanny that’s a whole other type of rage. If I found out that my child’s nanny was smoking around him I would fire her on the spot, no explanation necessary. The thought that someone being paid to take care of a child would have such a blatant disregard for the child’s well-being sent a flash of anger through my chest.
I’ll never know the relationship between the woman and the child, nor whether this woman will ever learn the error of her ways. I can only hope that the child doesn’t suffer any long term damage from this. You might think that I’m overreacting, but I have seen from personal experience the damage that cigarette smoking can cause. The next generation should be protected from that.
