Where There's Smoke....

So I just got back from Las Vegas. My parents invited me to go with them and I jumped at the chance. I had never been there and I needed a vacation! We had a great time touring the hotels and casinos, people watching, eating some great food, seeing some shows, and relaxing by the pool.  I loved it there and look forward to going back another time.

But one thing I did NOT like about Vegas was all the cigarette smoke! I am very sensitive to smells and I had a headache every single day we were there. Just one wiff goes straight to my sinuses and my head. I know I'm not alone in that. (Perfumes and cleaners do that to me too.)  It just makes me feel yucky. Plus, it got into my clothes and my purse and my hair and my pores.

When I got home, everything I took to Vegas smelled like smoke. I threw it all in the laundry and I thought that was that. Later that night, as the evening was cooling off, I decided to open all the windows and let some fresh air cool the house down.  Then I smelled it again. Cigarette smoke. What? I thought I'd washed it out of everything. Then I realized it wasn't coming from me or my stuff, it was wafting through the windows from outside. My new neighbors are smokers, and they were out in their backyard puffing away.

Now, I have nothing against cigarette smokers. If they want to smoke that is their business. But I do have a problem being forced to inhale their smoke along with them. I am very happy with all the smoking laws that have been passed. Let smokers smoke in their homes but not in places where everyone else is exposed.

So, where does my situation fall?  It falls through the cracks of the laws and the system.  My neighbors ARE in their home. Or at least in their yard. They have every right to smoke. But I'm in my home too and I have a right to fresh air. Yes, I can close my windows, but I WANT them open. I like fresh air, and then I don't have to run my air conditioner at night.

The irony of all this is that it really pisses me off that the anti-fireplace group here in Davis, wants to ban wood burning. Their concern is people with asthma and other breathing problems.  I get that. I actually have asthma, but fireplace smoke doesn't bother me. Cigarette smoke doesn't  bother my asthma either, it just bothers my sinuses.  I want to be able to have a fire in my fireplace.

So...I don't know what the answer is. Personal rights versus the rights of many. I like things to be fair.  I know....life isn't fair.  So, I guess I have to keep my windows closed as long as smokers are living next door.

What do you think?

Oh, and because everything I think about, puts a song in my head, I'll share that with you too.