Butt Out!

I am finishing week four of my Living in Halifax Adventure and it really has been great. I am feeling happy, really and truly happy, and it is incredible. School is busy and I've been working hard, but I am so glad I am here. I like being a Haligonian!

... except for one thing: People in Halifax smoke like chimneys. I have never experienced this problem before. Mount Allison didn't have a huge population of smoking students (or so it seemed). Everywhere I have lived in New Brunswick, I have been able to avoid the places where people light up. But in Halifax, they smoke EVERYWHERE! especially the sidewalks. What makes people think that they should smoke in public areas like this outside of their workplaces? No matter which direction I walk to school, I am inevitably going to pass quite a few people who are sharing their lovely habit with me. Yesterday, I somehow missed the smoking rush, yet even with no one standing on the sidewalk outside the hospital, there was still a cloud of second hand smoke giving me my daily dose of carcinogens.

I have never felt the need to condemn people based on their bad habits. Yes, if you smoke, its your choice. But if I had the choice, I would chose NOT to inhale your second hand smoke. So please stop smoking around other people! Please lock yourself in a garage where no one will ever have to deal with the effects of your nasty habit. Or at least, keep off the sidewalks!