Challenges Smokers Face Everyday
Smokers are going to have a hard time of things due to the many unique challenges that they face everyday. Some of the challenges that smokers face include everything from social, to work-related, choosing a place to live, and even just logistical issues like where you can actually smoke at all. Obviously, there are a huge variety of health challenges for smokers, and this should be your main concern. But, apart from that, there are many more other challenges you’ll face.
For help on how to overcome these challenges, we invite you to download our guide”13 Seldom Talked about Smoking Triggers eBook”. By better understanding why you smoke and what your triggers are, you’ll be better equipped at quitting this habit once and for all.
Going to Restaurants
Beyond health challenges, is increasingly a place where restaurants are unfriendly to smokers. For example, out of the 50 states that exist in the U.S., only a fraction still allow smoking, and there’s an indication that this could be shrinking. Even for bars and restaurants that do allow smoking, you will always have to head to the smoking section, which will limit your choices for where you go.
Plus, some restaurants may prohibit children in those sections, so if you have children, this is even more of a problem. Additionally, even if you’re in a state where it’s not just banned statewide, there are likely going to be plenty of restaurants and bars within those states that ban it anyway. Many of these restaurants are going to be unhappy about you even going out into the parking lot to smoke.
Social Challenges
Smokers face challenges socially too. Due to the campaigns against smoking that have been running in many places for decades now, there’s a major social stigma against doing it. Obviously, this is going to be stronger in some areas as opposed to others, but it can be a real challenge. If you need to get your fix just to get through the day, you’re going to risk getting a dirty look from just about anyone who’s nearby. And if you smoke near a child, even in those situations where you’re technically in a smoking section and the parents and children are in a non-smoking section, the smoke can drift, and this can cause anger.
In other words, this challenge relates to the difficulty of having strangers yell at you in public for this one thing that you do, without knowing your situation at all.
Running Afoul of Local Laws
Laws change constantly depending on where you are and what you’re doing. For example, some areas are going to make it illegal to have a cigarette in the car. There are going to be some malls where you can’t smoke at all. Some malls or public places might go so far as to have bans for absolutely anywhere on the grounds of a mall.
Again, this means that technically you can’t even leave the mall, walk out in the parking lot or far out in the grounds, and then light up there. If you need to smoke bad enough and you try doing this anyway, you could find yourself getting fined if the police hear about it.
Finding Housing
Another big issue that smokers have to worry about is the fact that many housing units, including condos, are non-smoking areas. Basically, you can’t smoke in your own house at all, legally. Obviously, this will depend on the area, but plenty of liberal areas where you might need housing will inflict serious penalties on you for trying to smoke if you get caught.
In fact, there are many that have mandatory carbon dioxide detectors that are legally required to be in the condo or apartment in order to prevent fires. So, if you try smoking in such an apartment, you could set off a fire alarm, and everyone in the entire building will then know that you smoke, creating bad feelings, which is a bad idea to try to handle with your neighbours that can lead to all sorts of other problems.
Getting and Keeping Work
Plenty of employers don’t want you to smoke while employed with them at all in the U.S. Again, this varies by state. Some workplaces have tried to mitigate this by creating laws that make it illegal for employers to discriminate against smokers in various ways, including refusing to hire them. But if you’re in a workplace where this isn’t the case, you may find it difficult to find employment at all if you really need to smoke during the day.
Again, the entire building that you work in may outlaw smoking, so you can’t even really step outside to smoke during breaks. So, if you have cravings during the day, you’re going to have trouble keeping a job if you can’t smoke.
Travelling
Completing the total move against smokers is the fact that it’s illegal to smoke in most airports, making things harder for travellers. You can’t smoke in, many airports for security reasons which makes illegal. This means that you have to plan out for cravings ahead of time or just resign yourself to only taking short flights if you’re a smoker.
Challenges Smokers Face Everyday for many reasons, you want to quit and if you’re ready to take this new approach, especially after having exhausted several others, please reach out and contact us to begin your QSN journey today.
