I already had this post planned and to be honest with you, I was in two minds about pressing send. It might be a little controversial, however, after learning that 14th March is #NoSmokingDay I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to put it out there and to give you an honest insight into the mind and feelings of a sometimes frustrated non-smoker.. with the hope that some of you may give up this unhealthy habit.

Whilst I could deliver lots of facts and statistics about the dangers of smoking and the terrible effects of passive smoking, these are already widely out there in the public domain, so I have chosen to approach this post from a personal perspective.

I think that passive smoking is an issue. In fact, I hate it.

If people want to smoke, that is entirely up to them, but to all the smokers out there; please don’t blow your smoke in people’s faces, especially in the faces of people who choose not to smoke.

Smoking is a choice, therefore if you are a smoker, you should respect non-smokers (of all ages, including children) and safeguard their health, by not smoking in public places, as the law requires. This should include when you are sat in traffic with your windows down or stood outside entrances to buildings – especially when there are signs which clearly say no smoking!

There isn’t a week or probably even a day, that goes by, without having the delightful experience of choking on somebody else’s clouds of smoke whilst walking down the street. Another dimension to this is public transport. When you are using public transport and somebody who has clearly just been smoking, sits next to you, it can cause anything from having to deal with an unpleasant scent to actually struggling to breathe.. and you generally can’t get away from it. Or, if you do take the plunge, people wrongly assume that you are being rude. It’s a matter of breathing people!

The worst thing though, is visiting people’s houses, especially houses of relatives or in-laws, and having to try and disguise the fact that you are slowly losing the ability to breathe whilst they chat along to you and drown you in their smoke. In this scenario, the choices available to you are A) choke quietly or B) speak up and become the most unpopular person in the household!

It’s safe to say that my house is and forever will be, a no smoking zone and something that all visitors will have to deal with – Sorry not sorry!

Another thing.. E-cigarettes.. Smoking e-cigarettes is still classed as smoking! You are no exception and you are not immune to the rules. I find it quite amusing that many people think that smoking e-cigarettes is acceptable in the public domain and that they can be used on trains, in shops and restaurants and in a long list of other public places. A cloud of smoke is a cloud of smoke and passive smoking is harmful, regardless of whether it smells of apples, oranges, candy floss or whatever else the latest flavour is!

Jokes aside, if you are a smoker, this post is not meant to offend you.. But please kindly consider non-smokers in the future and the issue of passive smoking, and keep your smoke to yourself. I just don’t think that it is fair that non-smokers have time, whether that is seconds, minutes or hours, potentially taken off their lives by other people who choose to smoke. Allow people to choose the type of air that they breathe. Even better, give up this unhealthy habit and improve your own life. It is never too late. Yay to #NoSmokingDay!

A view from Manchester Piccadilly Station that got me thinking..

Do you smoke? If so, are you respectful of non-smokers?

Are you a non-smoker who hates dealing with passive smoking?

L.