When the Smoke Clears...

To some it is believed that when a person passes, one of the most wonderful legacies anyone can leave behind is their offspring. Now, imagine you as a parent. Of course, you want the best for your child. You want them to surpass you in every way, to grow up with more opportunities and more chances to thrive than you were ever given. A new and improved version of yourself. You want them to have dreams; and with these dreams, the attitude and persistence to make their ambitions a reality. Everyone really wants this...right?

When a person lights up, takes that long, wondrous drag, not only are they ultimately decreasing their own life expectancy, they're gradually dwindling the hope of a long, healthy life for those around them. As this photo plainly states, secondhand smoke kills. THIS IS A FACT. It's not an opinion, speculation, theory or belief. It's a fact. It has been proven that due to the dangerous toxins that make up a cigarette, secondhand smoke exposure can cause premature death in children and adults who do not smoke, not to mention cause countless diseases and heart conditions.

I can't help but ask myself, as I attempt comprehend my very own sentence, what gives a smoker the right to endanger others with their own reckless addiction? Selfish doesn't even begin to cut it.

Not even close.

As their bodies are not yet finished developing, secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. Approximately 50-75 percent of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in their blood. Cancer, lung and heart disease, and asthma are also common imprints that are left on children who frequently are exposed to secondhand smoke.

To a smoker, this photo is indeed controversial. It's everything they do not want to own up to or take responsibility for. Hopefully the guilt they feel is sufficient enough to make them question their ways before it's too late. In my opinion, smoking is a completely selfish indulgence. The fact of the matter is that partakers of tobacco are not only compromising their own well being when they light up. Their smoke harms their neighbors, friends, children...everyone. I think it's time smokers open their eyes to the reality of their life threatening habit. I understand nicotine is addicting, I do. But if the health of their children on the line isn't enough of a motivator to quit, if an image of their beloved youngster growing up with the limitation and pain of cancer or a heart condition isn't enough, I truly don't know what is....and my heart aches for their little ones who did nothing to deserve such a fate.