Breathing Optional?

Someone asked me if I had seen a particular movie or knew a certain actress. My answer was an immediate no. Of course, they thought there was something wrong with me, but I haven't been in a movie theatre in over 20 years. Yes, you read that right and it has nothing to do with prices.
I first stopped going to the theatre when my allergies became serious. Exposure to cigarette smoke caused an immediate allergy attack. I stopped going to restaurants a short time later. Smoke doesn't stay in invisibly prescribes boundaries.
I ventured back to the theatre a few years later when smoking was prohibited. The manager even gave me a estimate on how much money they saved once smoking was outlawed. The cleaning bill itself was cut almost in half and they had no need to replace the upholstery constantly due to burns and smell. But, they had a new trick up their sleeve to make more money. Back when I went to the theatre, you could actually sit through the movie a second time or even a third...if you arrived half way through, you just sat through it again. If the snacks didn't sit well, you could catch what you missed on the second playing. Or, if you were just getting older and sitting through a 2 hour movie without a run to bathroom was the impossible dream, once again, you could catch it again. This time, I found myself in the back parking lot trying to figure out how to get back to my car and a restroom as you were not allowed to exit through the front of theatre. I have never gone back.
Fast forward to a year ago when I started reading an article on negotiating rental agreements. It seems some tenants were getting up to a $1,000.00 off their rental prices if the former tenant smoked simply for cleaning. Now you might say right now, "what a rip off of the realtor." The article was actually suggesting the potential tenant contact a cleaning service and get an estimate just to make certain that amount would cover the smoke removal and keep in mind that complete repainting and refinishing of floors and ceiling might be necessary. Obviously, there is a LOT more in cigarettes than when I was a kid with two 3 pack a day smokers that gifted me with asthma, allegies, spots on my lungs and daily coughing, not to mention being uninsurable, even though I have never smoked anything in my life. You might also like to to know that previous tenant was not getting their deposits back, so once again, the landlord was making out like a bandit. They always do in Florida, that lovely right to work and right to rent state.
Every time I hear smoker's rights I have one thought. Breathing is not optional. Smoke triggers asthma, which is at epidemic porportions, in people and you do not ever want to have an asthma attack. Trust me on this one. Drowning is nice. You actually think you can breathe water just before you lose consciousness. Having enough pain shooting through your chest for a heart attack while you gasp for breath because you can't get the air out of your lungs to take more in is not nice. It is the worst feeling I have ever had and I almost drowned once.
Which brings me to the next battle: the electronic cigarette. Okay, I had my first experience with one last night. I started choking instantly. I didn't catch on to what was happening because cigarette smoke doesn't affect me that fast. I felt like I had red ants in my throat and bronchial tubes. These things are WAY WORSE than a cigarette. Not only that, but with a really minimal exposure that really wouldn't have affected me that badly with the real thing, I had to wash my hair and even my nose out to get rid of the cloying smell. Oddly enough, it did not stick to my costume which was fake material. It stuck to my hair, skin and the inside of my nose. I was coughing the rest of the evening and miserable trying to talk to people.
I also read in a doctor's column that these things are not in the least bit more healthy. Their sole purpose is to skirt the no smoking laws. I am willing to bet after my experience they are WAY WORSE for your health. So, if you are a store, restaurant or other location where smoking is prohibited and the question comes up as to whether someone can use one of those things, I suggest the answer be a resounding NO! As for me, if the question comes up, I may turn it into an electronic suppository for you. You have been warned.