I'm a 64-year-old smoker - been smoking for 45 years - my lungs are healthy, and look about 10 years younger than my age. I live in the USA, in the state of Virginia, which, when I moved here 12 years ago, was extremely welcoming and more than tolerant of smokers, but things have changed drastically in the past few years.
I lost my first apartment, after being an excellent, clean and responsible tenant for 9 years, when my landlady, an ex-smoker nagged into quitting by her 3 children, morphed into a rabid antismoker and decided my smoking would harm her children and ruin her property (even though my apartment wasn't even connected to her house and, in fact, was about a half-block away from it). I moved into a nice basement apartment. My landlady, a sweet 89-year-old who lived upstairs, had no problem with my being a smoker because her late husband had smoked. I lived there happily for about 10 months, and one day she informed me that I had to move in 30 days because she had told a friend of hers that I smoked, and the friend came to visit, and swore up and down that the "stink of cigarettes" was all over my landlady's house (even though we shared no walls or vents) and it would end up killing my landlady, not to mention the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My landlady (who was a very suggestible type) was terrified and gave me notice immediately.
I was homeless for 3 months trying to find a place to live where smoking was allowed and that I could afford on my disability income. (my disability has nothing to do with smoking). The only place I could find to stay was the YWCA. The brochure said they had a smoking lounge. Went to the interview and was told that there was no more smoking lounge and if you wanted to smoke, you had to go outside onto the street. In a really bad neighborhood. Without even any street lights at night. They accepted me but I really didn't want to stay there because the other tenants were, well, kinda scary. (i.e., ex-cons). Luckily when I told a friend - who smokes! - about what I was going through, and what the Y was like, she and her husband insisted I stay with them until I found a permanent place. They lived about 80 miles outside of town in an isolated rural area, I don't have a car, and it would be extremely difficult for me to get to necessary appointments, but that was the only roof over my head that was available.
In the meanwhile, I started applying for senior housing. I was accepted at the first place I applied and would have been able to move there in a month, but was told, "Tomorrow we're telling all our residents that they can't smoke inside the building any more, not even in their own apartments, and not in front of the building." They'd have to walk down a block or so to an unsheltered area without even any benches to sit on. I was like, WHAT? These people are 62 and up. A lot of them are on walkers. A lot of them use wheelchairs. And when I walked into the lobby, most of the people sitting there were smoking. This is CRUELTY! Soooo - I applied to place number two, where smoking was allowed in one's apartment. There was a three-month waiting list. And it was quite difficult to get into this privately-funded apartment complex for low-income seniors. But I made it in, and I'm happy to live here now. BUT - who knows how long smoking will be allowed? There are noises being made about a ban. Nothing concrete - just talk, and rumors. And some of these elderly people here are absolutely terrified of being anywhere near smokers - probably thanks to being bombarded by anti-smoking "public announcements" on TV and scare stories by their doctors and grandchildren.
I lost my first apartment, after being an excellent, clean and responsible tenant for 9 years, when my landlady, an ex-smoker nagged into quitting by her 3 children, morphed into a rabid antismoker and decided my smoking would harm her children and ruin her property (even though my apartment wasn't even connected to her house and, in fact, was about a half-block away from it). I moved into a nice basement apartment. My landlady, a sweet 89-year-old who lived upstairs, had no problem with my being a smoker because her late husband had smoked. I lived there happily for about 10 months, and one day she informed me that I had to move in 30 days because she had told a friend of hers that I smoked, and the friend came to visit, and swore up and down that the "stink of cigarettes" was all over my landlady's house (even though we shared no walls or vents) and it would end up killing my landlady, not to mention the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My landlady (who was a very suggestible type) was terrified and gave me notice immediately.
I was homeless for 3 months trying to find a place to live where smoking was allowed and that I could afford on my disability income. (my disability has nothing to do with smoking). The only place I could find to stay was the YWCA. The brochure said they had a smoking lounge. Went to the interview and was told that there was no more smoking lounge and if you wanted to smoke, you had to go outside onto the street. In a really bad neighborhood. Without even any street lights at night. They accepted me but I really didn't want to stay there because the other tenants were, well, kinda scary. (i.e., ex-cons). Luckily when I told a friend - who smokes! - about what I was going through, and what the Y was like, she and her husband insisted I stay with them until I found a permanent place. They lived about 80 miles outside of town in an isolated rural area, I don't have a car, and it would be extremely difficult for me to get to necessary appointments, but that was the only roof over my head that was available.
In the meanwhile, I started applying for senior housing. I was accepted at the first place I applied and would have been able to move there in a month, but was told, "Tomorrow we're telling all our residents that they can't smoke inside the building any more, not even in their own apartments, and not in front of the building." They'd have to walk down a block or so to an unsheltered area without even any benches to sit on. I was like, WHAT? These people are 62 and up. A lot of them are on walkers. A lot of them use wheelchairs. And when I walked into the lobby, most of the people sitting there were smoking. This is CRUELTY! Soooo - I applied to place number two, where smoking was allowed in one's apartment. There was a three-month waiting list. And it was quite difficult to get into this privately-funded apartment complex for low-income seniors. But I made it in, and I'm happy to live here now. BUT - who knows how long smoking will be allowed? There are noises being made about a ban. Nothing concrete - just talk, and rumors. And some of these elderly people here are absolutely terrified of being anywhere near smokers - probably thanks to being bombarded by anti-smoking "public announcements" on TV and scare stories by their doctors and grandchildren.
Keeping them unhealthy with the diet and meds, smokefree and plenty of mainstream media is just the ticket to keeping them dumbed down.
