$3000 College Scholarship Essay Contest

I just received this information about a scholarship opportunity.

The scholarship is sponsored by Mig Vapor, a company that creates products designed to help people reduce their dependency on tobacco, and each semester they award $3,000 scholarships to students who help bring awareness to the dangers of smoking.

The scholarship recipients are selected through an essay contest with the winning essays to be selected on the basis of how well-written, compelling, and persuasive they are.

Applicants must be a full-time student at an accredited four-year or two-year university, community college or junior college, or a graduate degree program. There are no costs associated with submitting an application for this scholarship, and the application deadline for Fall 2017 semester scholarships is May 31st, 2017.

For more information, be sure to check out the MigVapor Scholarship Essay Contest page. Feel free to share this with anyone you know who might be interested.

Good Reasons to Quit Smoking

Personally, I can't think of any good reasons to start smoking, but there are plenty of people who have started and either can't quit or don't want to.  I was reading an article the other day that listed some good reasons to quit smoking, and I thought I'd share.

The article started with a story shared by a doctor.  His grandmother had smoked her entire life, but in her late 60s, she and his grandfather moved into a new house with new drapes.  She quit smoking overnight because 'there was no way that she would get nicotine stains on her new drapes.'  What he was trying to say was that the only reason to quit smoking that truly matters - or works - is the one that matters to you.  Consequences such as death, or others that seem far off or abstract, often just aren't persuasive enough.

Perhaps one of these will be a good enough reason?

1. Avoiding wheelchair retirement - Smoking will kill you, right?  But what if it doesn't kill you, just has you stuck in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank because you have emphysema.  Is that how you want to spend your retirement?
2. Keeping your family healthy - Smokers can argue all they want about the effects of second-hand smoke, but the facts say that smoke contains 250 toxic chemicals.  It causes lung cancer and heart disease in non-smokers and breathing problems like asthma in children.  It can harm anyone who's breathing, and most of all those who are close to you.  Also, a 2009 Harvard School of Public Health study found that children who were 12 or younger when their parents were smoking were nearly four times more likely to start smoking than the children of nonsmokers.  Do you really want to be the reason your child starts smoking?
3. Smelling sweeter - Let's face it, smokers stink!  Would having your child or grandchild say, "I don't want to hug you because you smell like an ashtray" be enough to make you quit?
4. Saving money - This is a huge one, at least to me.  I've always said that even if I wanted to smoke, I wouldn't be able to do it because I'm too cheap.  The article says that the average price of a pack of cigarettes nationwide is $5.51, and that doesn't include local cigarette or sales taxes.  With those added, a pack of cigarettes can cost $11 in a state like New York.  $11!  Even at the base price of $5.51, a pack-a-day smoker spends more than $2000 a year.  Wouldn't that money be better spent on something else?  Rent, food, gas, a down payment on a car....

Related articles

• Another Reason to Quit Smoking: Third-Hand Smoke (fitsugar.com)

No Smoking in NYC - It's About Time

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There was quite a bit of discussion on the talk show yesterday about the New York smoking ban. Not only are smokers forbidden to light up in restaurants and bars and all enclosed spaces, now they're not allowed to smoke outdoors either - in parks or at beaches.  I can only celebrate!  Not that it affects me personally, but I can only hope that this spreads across the country.  Thankfully smoking is banned in indoor spaces here in Wisconsin, but those outdoor venues are still filled with smokers.  It makes it really hard to go anywhere.  The entire summer is filled with fairs, festivals, and outdoor concerts - and those events are always filled with smokers.  If I want to go out and have a good time, I have to subject myself to that.

According to WebMD, 22.9% of adults in the US (outside of California) were classified as heavy smokers in 1965.  That number had dropped to 7.2% by 2007.  In 1965 10.5% were considered moderate-intensity smokers, and that number had dropped to 5.4% by 2007.  So, my question is - why has it taken so long, and why haven't more of these smoking bans gone into effect?  So few people smoke, but the rest of us have been required to either stay home or subject ourselves to that smoke if we want to go out.  Every time smoking bans are discussed or go into effect, we hear all about how smokers' rights are being taken away.  Well, what about our rights?  Why do smokers seem to think their rights are so much more important than the rights of the rest of us?  They've taken away my right not to smoke every time I've gone out to a fair, festival, or concert, because there is just no getting away from that smoke - indoors or out.  Especially when smokers of every age spot me and try to get as close to me as they can, to share their smoke even better.  Why don't they look for other smokers to smoke around?

If smokers want to exercise their 'right to smoke' then they can be the ones who stay home, where that right doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights.  Quoting from one of the Related articles here: "Smokers in New York City have one more irritation to contend with" - Well, guess what?  Non-smokers have been contending with the irritation of second-hand smoke for quite some time.  It's about time those with the nasty habit make some adjustments instead of expecting the rest of us to just put up with them! 

Related articles

• NYC Smoking Ban In Parks Is Now In Affect, Enforced (huffingtonpost.com)
• New York's Central Park bans smoking [Chantal Cooke] (ecademy.com)
• Outdoor smoking ban goes into effect in NYC today (inquisitr.com)

Keeping the Bad Smells Out

I ended up closing all my windows yesterday, even though the weather was nice and I really wanted them open so I could get a nice breeze moving through the house.  But, I had guys working on my house, and few of them just happened to be smokers.  While they were putting down tarps and getting equipment ready, they were also smoking - with no notice of which direction the wind was blowing or which windows were open.  Smokers may be OK with the smell of smoke on everything around them and knowing they'll probably need somebody to make their funeral arrangements a bit earlier than the rest of us, but I'm not OK with the smell, and I'd prefer not to find out how soon 2nd hand smoke can kill me.

So, I closed all the windows, wishing they'd be a little more aware - and then I kept them closed so I didn't have to guard for random smoke breaks throughout the day.  And it turned out to be a good thing, because I heard a new motor running in the afternoon.  Yes, it's a miracle I could hear anything else with all the noise the roofers were already making, but I did.  And I looked out to see that the neighbor was getting his lawn treated with chemicals - nasty chemicals that would have come right in my kitchen window if I hadn't had it closed, because that is the way the wind was blowing.

Today, it was cool enough that I didn't really want the windows open.  They were back to finish the roof, and  there was probably smoke, but I didn't have to smell it or breathe it. 

Wisconsin Goes Smoke Free

Image by hegarty_david via Flickr

As of yesterday, 7/5/10, Wisconsin is smoke free!  That means NO SMOKING in a lot of places that used to be off-limits to me.  No smoking in bars and restaurants, no smoking in bowling alleys and other sports arenas, no smoking in hotel rooms, etc.  I'm sure smokers will still feel the need to light up in all kinds of outdoor areas like parks, fairs, festivals, and beaches, but at least it's a start.

Smoke-free areas include:

• Bars, restaurants, and private clubs, including military service groups (VFW, American Legion, etc.)
• Indoor worksites, including offices, facilities, and retail stores
• Hotel/motel rooms, bed and breakfasts, other lodging establishments, and common areas of apartment buildings
• Public transportation including taxis
• Work vehicles if more than one person is present
• Home offices with clients or employees other than the resident
• Public and private educational facilities, auditoriums, and arenas
• Meeting rooms open to the public, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, etc.
• Day care premises, health care facilities, and clinics
• Sports arenas of all kinds, including bowling centers, skating rinks, swimming pools, etc. (also includes
  large arenas such as Miller Park, Lambeau Field, etc.)

Source - Wisconsin's Better Smoke Free

Honestly, I have a hard time figuring out why it ever would have been acceptable to smoke in some of these places - like Day care premises.  Of course, people used to smoke in the grocery store I worked at before I married Jeffrey.  I absolutely hated having to check them out.  And then there were the people who smoked in the laundromat.  Here I was trying to get my clothes clean only to have some idiot smoke right by the dryer right when I needed to pull my clothes out - so my choice was to leave the clothes in the dryer to get wrinkled while I waited and hoped that there'd be a break between smokers and time for the air to clear out or just pull my clean clothes out into the smoke-filled air, therefore negating the whole process of washing and drying them.

The whole point is that cigarette smoke is annoying, irritating, and most of all bad for your health.  Why smokers have been allowed for so long to impose their bad habits on everyone around them is really beyond me.  If the majority of them had been aware of the fact that their so-called 'right' to smoke was taking away non-smokers' right to NOT smoke, and been considerate, maybe we wouldn't have to have a LAW to tell them where they shouldn't smoke. 

I'm already afraid this law will have to be tightened up even more, because as of now it doesn't specify how far smokers must be from doorways and entrances before lighting up.  They've already shown complete lack of awareness, common sense, or consideration for anyone but themselves when they light up the second they walk out of a store, mall, or other non-smoking establishment.  It doesn't really do a lot of good to make a bar or restaurant no smoking, if potential customers have to walk through a haze of smoke to get in or out.

I keep forgetting that this isn't about me - no matter how much I hate smoke and how much it hates me.  This is about giving people a safe place to work.  I've always had the choice not to go out, to stay home instead of exposing myself to the smoke.  It wasn't fair that I had to make that kind of choice, after all, the smokers are the ones with the bad habit, shouldn't they be the ones to make the choice - go out without smoking or just stay home?  And now that's exactly what they'll have to do!  I'm thinking they can go longer without smoking than I can being surrounded by their smoke.  People who had to work in these smoke-filled environments didn't really have the choice to stay home - not if they wanted to keep their jobs.  Of course, maybe they were all smokers and really didn't mind being exposed to all that smoke...

Heads or Tails - Wear

The theme/prompt for this week is:
HEADS - "Wear"
*OR*
TAILS - "Where"

I'm beginning to think that if I want to go to any fairs, festivals, or concerts in the future, I'm going to have to get me one of these gas masks to wear. That ought to protect me and filter out all that nasty secondhand smoke, right?

gas mask
Originally uploaded by jessonepointoh.

Looks real comfy, huh? But seriously, it's either that or stay home because it doesn't seem like most smokers have a clue how their smoke affects other people. If you're a smoker, and you're considerate of those around you, I'm sure they appreciate it! If you're a smoker who has never given it a second thought - please do. Forcing the people around you to smoke because you do is just plain mean. We shouldn't have to resort to wearing gas masks in order to go out in public.

Heads or Tails is a fun weekly meme created and hosted by Barb (aka Skittles) – feel free to join in!

UGH!

Jeffrey and I went to the Waukesha County Fair yesterday to see REO in concert. It's pretty much a summer tradition with us, seeing REO in concert. They put on a good show, and we really enjoy it, except I do wish they had played more songs from the Find Your Own Way Home CD. The trouble with these outdoor concerts is that I always end up surrounded by smokers. I guess I should know better and just stay home. Only smokers are allowed to have fun, and that's just the way it is. It doesn't occur to a single one of them that there are people in the world who actually need to breathe, who might not want to breathe their disgusting smoke. We had smokers behind us, smokers beside us, and then after the concert started more smokers right in front of/beside us - basically on top of me - and of course, that one couldn't go five seconds without lighting up, practically in my face the whole time. And then her fat friend came and stood directly in front of me - and when I moved in front of her so I could see and take a picture, she shoved me and said that I was rude.

Besides the burning eyes, sore throat, and all the other adverse reactions, I think what really bothers me about the whole thing is that smokers can come up and force me to breathe their smoke. They don't ask if I mind (I do!) They think they have the right to smoke, any time, anywhere, as often as they want. I thought I had the right to breathe, but I can't do it any time, anywhere, as often as I want. I can't walk up to a group of smokers and force them to breathe smoke-free air. Nope. I don't have a nasty habit, therefore I have no rights. They can assault me, and I'm just supposed to take it.

I always try to find other non-smokers to sit by, and I guess the smokers do too, because they always seem to find me. Seriously, why can't smokers look for other smokers to sit by? Congregate together - downwind. How hard is that? But no, they spread themselves throughout the whole crowd, making it completely impossible to avoid them. Even better - they could NOT SMOKE. It seems obvious to me that the people with the nasty habit should be the ones to give something up when they're out in public. I know for a fact that they can make it through a concert and even have a good time without smoking, because I've seen them do it. So why are they regularly allowed to ruin it for the rest of us? Why?

Oh, the Smell!

Image by Napoléon et la bêtise via Flickr

I think Tim's mom must live in an ash tray. Seriously, Beth volunteered to do her own laundry this week because she knew the smell would really bother me. As soon as she unpacked, she shut everything in her room. Then today she ran all her clothes through the washer and the dryer, but she had to leave for work before everything was dry. So, I pulled some of her clothes out of the dryer, and they still kinda have that nasty stale smoke smell. UGH! Does anyone actually like that smell? Do smokers even realize that they, their clothes and everything around them seriously reeks?

Smoking in Public Places

We've been to two concerts in the last week - Styx and Boston on Saturday night and REO Speedwagon last night. The bands were great. I enjoyed listening to them. What I didn't enjoy was the fact that I had to breathe tons of cigarette smoke simply because I wanted to be there. It gets me to wondering - who decided that only the smokers get to have fun? Any kind of event like that and the smokers come out - huge throngs of them. The rest of us have to decide if the event will be enough fun that it's worth exposing ourselves to that. Do I really want to breathe that, probably get a major headache, burning eyes and sore throat? Or would I rather stay home?

And, seriously, why should I have to make that kind of choice? Why should my desire to see a concert mean I also have to be packed in with people blowing smoke in my face? And, no, they can't just smoke and get it over with. They have to constantly light up - first this one and then that one - never stopping, and each time it's like a new slap in the face. Do they honestly not know how rude, inconsiderate and obnoxious the whole thing is? Sure, they have a right to smoke, but what about my right to breathe? Who decided my rights are less important than theirs?

Couldn't we just cluster all the smokers somewhere together - downwind from the rest of us? Let them all breathe each other's smoke and let me actually enjoy something for a change?