"The fact is that my brother has a scar on his neck from cigarette ash that burned him when he was a baby, and I was sick throughout my childhood with asthma and respiratory issues (I was even hospitalized once). I was shocked by the improvement in my health almost as soon as I moved out. The frequent pneumonia ended; I discovered I could safely enjoy exercise for the first time in my life."
"If there was something I was doing that hurt our son the way my parents hurt me, I'd like to believe I'd move mountains to quit. But my parents never even made a failed effort-and this is all despite the fact that two of my grandparents died of smoking-related causes, and there was certainly social pressure on them to quit. I've gone from, "Addiction is complicated and I love my parents, but they can't change,""
A new mother is reconsidering a planned holiday visit because both grandparents smoke despite offering to wear fresh clothes. The mother recalls childhood harms: a brother burned by cigarette ash and severe asthma that improved after moving out. Two grandparents died of smoking-related causes, and the mother resents that her parents never attempted to quit. The mother recognizes the conflict between understanding addiction and protecting her child. The arrival of the baby has altered priorities and heightened concern about secondhand exposure, prompting a search for how to set boundaries.
Read at Slate Magazine
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