“My husband and I arrived in Schiphol with our trolley bag. We saw our friend standing in front of the departure hall. She was sucking a cigarette hard, as if her life depended on it.” So, have you already started? “I joked. She looked at me with shooting eyes.” “If you make one more comment about smoking, I will make your vacation hell!” she angrily exclaimed. days and say nothing more about this.

“I was seven years old when my father got sick. Everyone smoked at that time. When my uncle – my father’s brother – died of lung cancer, my father decided to check himself in the hospital. He had no real complaint, only a smoker’s cough. It turned out that he had lung cancer.” Fortunately, it has not spread yet, and during the operation, his left lung was removed.

While my father was in surgery, I made a beautiful drawing of him at home. My aunt, a stubborn smoker, was with us and lit a cigarette. I asked if I wanted a puff. I was curious so I took a tug, and that’s when my mom walked in. I became angry. After that I never touched a cigarette again.”

changed due to lung cancer

“Even in my teenage years, which is the age when many people start smoking, there was no temptation. I was in Athens, and few people smoked there anyway, and my friends didn’t want to know anything about it either. So there wasn’t any.” Pressure from the outside, and even if there was, I saw at home an example of not really wanting to smoke.

My father was only fifty when he got lung cancer: a big strong man, always out in the open for his work as a contractor. Now he is suddenly at home. He could no longer do anything, he was always grim and wheezing. Such a tree changed from this man affected me greatly.”

“So it’s no surprise that I became an anti-smoker. I even made it my job. I’m an expert in the field of smoking cessation and I help people quit smoking all at once. But certainly not because I’ve banned smokers from my life, for example. I’ve made friends with my assistant.” Household, nice person I can laugh with, at my house she smokes on my porch in between work I can handle those little asses.

And so it happened that two years ago my husband and I went to Seville with this friend and five others for a week. We had rented a beautiful apartment with a swimming pool. We were exploring the city, eating good food, and just having a good time together. At least, that was the intention, but something really went wrong at the airport.”

bit my tongue

“There was also an incident upon arrival in Seville. Our group consisted of four smokers and four non-smokers. The first thing the smokers did was light a cigarette when we were out. A taxi was waiting for us, but it went off when the puff took so long I really had to bite my tongue. We got to our apartment and the next morning I went out onto the patio to grab a sandwich.

At the big table my girlfriend was smoking, I was sitting across from her. A friend joined us and also wanted a cigarette. He suggested she smoke somewhere else because I was eating. She attacked again angrily, “You don’t think I’d sit somewhere else for him, do you?” She stared at me, then deliberately blew her smoke my way. At that point I was done with it, and actually finished the whole vacation.”

“Smoking remained one thing in the group. I wasn’t used to being on vacation with smokers and always took that into account. There was a split. The smokers never wanted to walk and always took a taxi for everything, while the non-smokers were fitter and wanted to Seeing so much of the city, everything revolves around smoking during dinner, they wanted a cigarette between each course, they even lit it at the table, without making excuses or asking if we didn’t find it annoying.

Fortunately, this is not allowed on the balcony in Spain, so the restaurant owner sent them away to smoke elsewhere. They wafted across the street and then the stench carried over to our table.”

Terrible week

“You don’t have to stop smoking at all from me, but be respectful and considerate of each other. It didn’t happen, it was all planned around the ass. I kept to myself very strictly and said nothing about smoking, but it also ruined the vacation.”

I often read in our room, because I didn’t want to sit in the smoke and escape the tension. But then I was again accused of withdrawing and “not having fun”. All this caused me a lot of stress. It was really a bad week and I was happy when it was over. Once in Schiphol I grabbed my bag by the belt and didn’t say goodbye.

“I will never go on vacation with smokers again, I know for sure after this experience. We still have contact with a couple from this vacation, but no longer with the rest. The relationship with my girlfriend who smokes has been ruined. Too often we still text Text messages, but that’s it. It’s a pity that she immediately felt so attacked and that it was impossible to talk about this, while knowing about my dad and why I can sometimes have an emotional reaction when it comes to smoking.

breaks friendships

“The biggest misconception about smoking is that it’s addictive. Nicotine is addictive, but smoking itself is a learned behavior, usually between the ears and can be easily stopped there. But not everyone wants help. I accept that, but it’s a shame. Smoking not only destroys your health, but Your friendships, too.”

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Will it never happen again?

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