When I read recently in the Union-Recorder that the city of Milledgeville is entertaining the idea of a smoking ban in its restaurants, the walls of my office shook with the sound of my hoorah. I was first exposed to the joy of smokeless eating establishments on a trip to the California wine country a couple of years ago. I cannot describe what a pleasure it was to enter a restaurant, enjoy a glass or two of wine, listen to beautiful guitar music, and leave the place without smelling like a stale ashtray. The fact that I could go back to my hotel without taking another shower before bed to clean the smell from my hair was refreshing, to say the least. I have been enjoying this same experience on Monday nights recently at The Brick. Frank has been trying a non-smoking period from 6 until 10 pm on Mondays, and it has been fun. Stay tuned for the verdict on whether or not the Monday nights without smoke will continue.
I am an ex-smoker. Of course, those of us who used to smoke have a reputation for being the most obnoxious of all non-smokers, but there are reasons for it. When I did smoke, I was the most fastidious of all smokers. I did not smoke in my house or in my car, and forbade anyone else to. If I were going to meet my non-smoking friends, I would change my clothes and douse myself with perfume so that they wouldn’t notice that I had been smoking. They noticed anyway. I brushed the enamel almost completely off my teeth if ever there was a chance that a date might attempt a good-night kiss. NOTHING masks the taste of cigarette smoke when you kiss someone who smokes. When I entered chiropractic school in 1994, I was a closet smoker. I smoked outside in an area just outside the cadaver labs so that the smell of formaldehyde would mask the smell of the smoke. In 1997, I decided that all of this was just too much trouble, and I decided to quit. Aside from the fact that it was too much trouble, the health risks were more real to me when I personally dissected the lungs of a man who died from lung cancer. Everyone who ever thought about smoking a cigarette should have to dissect those same lungs. I only hope and pray that I didn’t permanently damage my own lungs in the years that I did partake.
I personally feel that if you want to smoke it is your own business and choice to do so. However, as a doctor and someone who has young children in my family, I do not feel that anyone has the right to jeopardize the health of others. If young children are in the presence of second-hand smoke, the chance of their developing asthma and other respiratory ailments is significantly increased. The risk of developing lung cancer for those who are exposed to second-hand smoke is enormous, as many lawsuits against the tobacco giants have proven. Second-hand smoke is not only unhealthy but also inconvenient for non-smokers. In the presence of smoke, clothing, skin, and hair absorb the odors and the smell will not fade away without laundering and showering.
There are multitudes of reasons not to smoke, but I won’t preach about that. I do have sympathy for those who are addicted to cigarettes. In the words of my best friend in school who helped me quit smoking, “When you have had enough, you’ll quit. Until then all efforts are wasted.” This is true for bad relationships, overeating, and many other maladies. If anyone wants help in quitting, call me and I will share what worked for me.
The efforts of the city to ban smoking in restaurants is an honorable one, and I hope it works. As a non-smoker, I too would like to have the opportunity to go downtown and hear some great jazz while I enjoy my dinner or go have wings and libations with my co-workers without the hassle of dealing with second-hand smoke. It has been happening in California for years. The restaurants are still successfully selling adult beverages and there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of patrons. Monday nights at The Brick haven’t been exceptionally slow when I’ve been there. Come join us this Monday night and see what it’s like to have food in a fun environment without going home smelling like smoke. You might meet some new friends or reunite with old ones. Treat your body well.