- Playing
- Smoke Free, At Last
- From
- Nathan Callahan
Why is it that, while carcinogens from chemical sources with stronger lobbies in Washington fester in my food, drink, carpeting and clothing, somehow, the carcinogens from breathing someone else’s tobacco smoke has become the target for all that government ad campaign dollar?
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Piece Description
Why is it that, while carcinogens from chemical sources with stronger lobbies in Washington fester in my food, drink, carpeting and clothing, somehow, the carcinogens from breathing someone else’s tobacco smoke has become the target for all that government ad campaign dollar?
Transcript
Smoke Free, At Last
Second-Hand Modern Living with Carcinogens
by Nathan Callahan
I come from a smoke-free family. I’m not a smoker. My parents never smoked and neither did their parents… smoke tobacco. But that didn’t prevent us from being smoke tolerant. As long as we were in a well-ventilated area, we never made a fuss about the carcinogens we may have breathed in from the smoke of others. After all, we inhaled wildfire benzene-enhanced seasonal smoke in the foothills of the San Fernando Valley for years. We made suburban cocktails with spray paint, RAID, carbon monoxide and diesel fumes. What’s a little smoke between friends? While we avoided tobacco smoked filled restaurants and applauded when smoking was banned in airliners, we recognized that smoking gave cool comfort to nicotine junkies. So, we gave them their space.
Later in life, I sought out people who smoked (in r...
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