What's Your Take on Smoking

[e.j.]

Its a hard habit to break and I wish I didnt do it. I am sorry that you lost your mom to such a horrible disease.

I wonder if being hypnotized works? Anyone ever tried it for anything?

Thanks, Nikia. It really can be a hard habit to break. As we were growing up, I remember my mother telling me and my brothers and sister, "I wish I had never started. Please don't ever start because it's so hard to stop." Even after watching all she went through, my father, who was also a heavy smoker, had a very difficult time breaking the habit but finally did after 4 or 5 attempts.

[Daycare_Mama]

I'm really trying not to be offended here, and I know most (if not all) are trying really hard to NOT be offensive, but I guess I really am.

I'm a smoker. I'm also a professional daycare provider. The people making comments about pulling their kids immediately if they knew their provider smoked - what do you think we do? Light up in the playroom during circle time?!? I do not smoke in the house. I never smoke anywhere the kids could see me. I always use a strong mint and wash my hands after. There are no cigarette butts laying around my yard. I never leave the kids unattended, my breaks are only when my "assistants" are here and helping. The care I give my dck's is never compromised because I smoke. I've missed ONE day since starting daycare, and that was from the stomach flu I caught from one of the kids. My dckids are way sicker than I ever am. We take walks, I chase them around outside, I play on the floor occasionally with them. I don't have a problem keeping up with the kids. I would bet that none of my parents know I smoke, and I interact with them and their children every day. If they were to ask me point blank, I would tell them yes. I would not lie, have never lied about it, it has just never come up. I do not smell like smoke, my kids do not go home smelling like smoke.

I'm a provider and also one of those parents who would pull their kid out immediately if I found out my provider smoked. And it has nothing to do with thinking the person isn't capable of taking care of kids. I would believe them if they said they never smoked during daycare hours, but that doesn't matter one bit.

It's the whole logic of something as basic as the way a person's home smells. Everyone's home has a smell of some sort that is their home, good, bad, neutral. It has some sort of smell unique to that house. You know how you've gone to someone's house before and it smelled bad repeatedly.. animals, or whatever it may be. That person lives in that house everyday and doesn't notice the smell. It's the same for smoking. As a smoker, you can say that you don't smell it on yourself or your stuff, but nonsmokers CAN smell it. It smells in your hair, on your shirt, etc. I've walked into a friend's house for 10-15 minutes at a party where someone was smoking and when I went home later that night, my shirt reeked. Unless, you are smoking, going inside taking off your clothes you were just in, throwing them in the wash right away, showering/washing your hair, and putting on new clothes, you are going to have some smoke smell on you and/or in your home. That's just a fact.

So, while a smoker is perfectly capable of being an excellent care giver of children, I personally would never send my child to one and would pull them out right away if I found out they were a smoker. For one, my daughter was born 3 months early and has bad asthma - I don't want her around any sort of smell of it, even after the cigarette is long gone. That's toxic to her already scarred lungs. But even if my daughter had perfectly normal full term lungs, I still wouldn't send her to a provider who was a smoker. I think that may be hard for a smoker to understand, but it's absolutely nothing personal or offensive.. just a fact that there's no way to get rid of every single lingering smell after someone smokes.

[dEHmom]

Here's where I am at on this subject...

AGREE-
being a smoker does not impact the quality or value of care, it does not make the person a bad person, and I wouldn't pull my child out just because they smoked, if I was assured and felt comfortable in the fact that they are outside smokers, the kids will NEVER see them smoking or find out they are.
I would pull my child out if the provider stated they did not smoke period, but find out they actually do (that means they lied, and i would have to question their character).
I always just considered asking if they smoke was mainly related to issues of asthma. If your child is allergic to smoke or anything it would be no different than if they were allergic to pets and they wanted to know if you had pets in the house.

DISAGREE-
that everything will smell of smoke. I know many people who smoke and their own husband/wife doesn't know.




EJ that is awful about that womans house. Everyone who comes to my house has never had to be told to smoke outside. They just automatically do it. I think as a courtesy, you just assume as a smoker, that you smoke outside unless they say "hey it's ok, here's an ashtray".

As for a stop smoking aid, I have to admit my husband and I tried many times cold turkey, patches, gum nothing worked. 10 days on champix and we were done smoking. Still had to continue for the duration of the treatment. I think in USA it's chantix? I would definitely recommend this product to anyone trying to quit. Even I had a history of depression and it didn't make me depressed. Although that is one side affect to watch for. It makes you a little upset in the tummy for about 1/2 hr after you take it.

As for the points about people smoking at the doorways, even when I was a smoker, I couldn't stand walking into places where people were smoking at the door. Even at the hospitals when the patients and visitors stood in the doorways. Now you have to be ridiculously far away from the entrances/exits of businesses to smoke. The hospitals you have to be way out on the public sidewalks, etc. I'm not sure of the actual distance but I figure it to be about 200ft. Although you still see those jackasses smoking at the hospital entrance because they either don't read, can't read or don't care.
You can actually get slapped with a big ticket if caught smoking in a doorway or near an entrance to a business.

[Former Teacher]

My mother and father both smoked for 50 odd years. My father quit cold turkey because he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Thank God we got in time and it was just a small patch. He had the surgery and is doing awesome almost 8 years later.

My mother, too, quit cold turkey because she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Again, it was caught in time. She asked the doctor if she can continue to smoke. The doctor said Sure! Up until you have the surgery. Then NO MORE. She too has been cancer free for almost 6 years.

My husband smokes. I do not let smoke in my house or car. He has tried (just not hard enough) several things, nothing has worked. According to him, he says its just a habit that he never finishes them. Well then to me that's a waste of money then.

It's sad to say but sometimes it takes a heart wrenching moment in life for people to wake up.

[dEHmom]

ask him to talk to his doctor about Chantix or Zyban or something. It's a shot, if it doesn't work, then tell him he can smoke for the rest of his life if he wants. But if it works, he owes you a massage everyday for the rest of your life!

[Former Teacher]

ask him to talk to his doctor about Chantix or Zyban or something. It's a shot, if it doesn't work, then tell him he can smoke for the rest of his life if he wants. But if it works, he owes you a massage everyday for the rest of your life!

Sounds like a plan!!!!!

[countrymom]

in ontario, we have a no smoking policy in alot of places, like restaurants and public places. Right now they are in the process of making sporting events smoke free (doesn't it make sense) and they acually polled highschool kids and they all said the same thing, that smoking at sporting events was ridiculous. Also you can not smoke with your children in the vehicle. I don't care, I'm not a smoker.

so my back up provider hired an assistant who didn't tell her that she was a smoker. Well one day I show up and the assistant is outside smoking, so I ask C, what is she doing outside smoking (C's house is smoke free) and she told me that the assistant never told her that she smoked. Well it was the kids who started to complain that she smelled and that she was outside way too much on a smoke break, the assistant lasted one week and she was let go.

[jen]

ask him to talk to his doctor about Chantix or Zyban or something. It's a shot, if it doesn't work, then tell him he can smoke for the rest of his life if he wants. But if it works, he owes you a massage everyday for the rest of your life!

Welbutrin combined with a nicorette patch does wonders.

[misol]

I'm really trying not to be offended here, and I know most (if not all) are trying really hard to NOT be offensive, but I guess I really am.

I'm a smoker. I'm also a professional daycare provider. The people making comments about pulling their kids immediately if they knew their provider smoked - what do you think we do? Light up in the playroom during circle time?!? I do not smoke in the house. I never smoke anywhere the kids could see me. I always use a strong mint and wash my hands after. There are no cigarette butts laying around my yard. I never leave the kids unattended, my breaks are only when my "assistants" are here and helping. The care I give my dck's is never compromised because I smoke. I've missed ONE day since starting daycare, and that was from the stomach flu I caught from one of the kids. My dckids are way sicker than I ever am. We take walks, I chase them around outside, I play on the floor occasionally with them. I don't have a problem keeping up with the kids. I would bet that none of my parents know I smoke, and I interact with them and their children every day. If they were to ask me point blank, I would tell them yes. I would not lie, have never lied about it, it has just never come up. I do not smell like smoke, my kids do not go home smelling like smoke.

marniewon, I was not trying to offend - I was just stating my personal opinion about smoking and what I would and wouldn't do when dealing with a provider who smokes or knowingly accepting a child from a smoking household. I personally wouldn't want to deal with either.

I'm not around smokers so I have no idea what smokers do or how they handle their addiction. Some may be able to control themselves enough not to ever smoke around their kids or in their houses or in their cars - but some may not. As a parent I would not have the time nor the desire to try and determine whether my provider was a heavy smoker, or just a social smoker, or only smokes when drinking, etc. All I want to know is if she smokes AT ALL and that would be all I needed to make my decision.

I wasn't trying to attack YOUR professionalism as a smoking provider. I was just throwing a few things out there to consider. As far as being more likely to get sick and having health issues - just take a look at what health insurance premiums are for a smoker versus a nonsmoker. There are plenty of studies out there documenting smoking and it's effects on productivity and absenteeism in the workplace. Even though the studies don't mention specific industries, I would assume that daycare would not be exempt especially since it's a pretty physical job. Even some employment applications now ask whether or not you are a smoker. If you have only had to close one day then you should consider yourself lucky and so should your dc parents. I am asthmatic and even though I haven't had to close, there have been 2 or 3 days where I had to limit my physical activity with the kids because of breathing problems on a certain day. So, any and all health related issues have the potential to affect your performance at work - not just smoking.

if someone doesn't smoke in the home or around their children then their child/belongings wouldn't smell like smoke and certainly couldn't make your house smell.

This may be true. Like i said, I wouldn't knowingly accept a child into care that comes from a smoking household. If I unknowingly took a child from a smoking home and the kid or their belongings did not smell of smoke then there wouldn't be a problem. As long as I can't tell (which is unlikely for me) then I guess we can do business together and if the odor ever became an issue then I would look for new clients.

I'm a provider and also one of those parents who would pull their kid out immediately if I found out my provider smoked. And it has nothing to do with thinking the person isn't capable of taking care of kids. I would believe them if they said they never smoked during daycare hours, but that doesn't matter one bit.

It's the whole logic of something as basic as the way a person's home smells. Everyone's home has a smell of some sort that is their home, good, bad, neutral. It has some sort of smell unique to that house. You know how you've gone to someone's house before and it smelled bad repeatedly.. animals, or whatever it may be. That person lives in that house everyday and doesn't notice the smell. It's the same for smoking. As a smoker, you can say that you don't smell it on yourself or your stuff, but nonsmokers CAN smell it. It smells in your hair, on your shirt, etc. I've walked into a friend's house for 10-15 minutes at a party where someone was smoking and when I went home later that night, my shirt reeked. Unless, you are smoking, going inside taking off your clothes you were just in, throwing them in the wash right away, showering/washing your hair, and putting on new clothes, you are going to have some smoke smell on you and/or in your home. That's just a fact.

So, while a smoker is perfectly capable of being an excellent care giver of children, I personally would never send my child to one and would pull them out right away if I found out they were a smoker. For one, my daughter was born 3 months early and has bad asthma - I don't want her around any sort of smell of it, even after the cigarette is long gone. That's toxic to her already scarred lungs. But even if my daughter had perfectly normal full term lungs, I still wouldn't send her to a provider who was a smoker. I think that may be hard for a smoker to understand, but it's absolutely nothing personal or offensive.. just a fact that there's no way to get rid of every single lingering smell after someone smokes.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO true. I was thinking all of this but my original post was already too long so I left it out I am allergic to cigarette smoke and I am also an asthmatic so I am sure that this is probably the root of my repulsion toward smoking. I have a very keen sense of smell. I consider myself one of those people who can smell a smoker a mile away and I haven't been wrong yet. Regular smokers who think that they are fooling people by only smoking outside, washing hands or eating mints after, etc. are only fooling themselves. It's kind of like putting on perfume or deodorant without taking a shower - we can still smell you. It's in your hair, on your skin, your clothes, your undergarments. The same is true with people who have pets that claim no one would ever be able to tell they have a dog, a cat, a baboon, or whatever. Even if your house doesn't "stink", there is still a distinctive smell that you/your home has - unless maybe you are one of the rare people these days who has an "outside" dog or something.

Smokers and pet owners - please keep in mind that just because someone doesn't mention anything about you having a pet or being a smoker doesn't mean that they cannot smell cigarette smoke or your pet's scent on you.

Question: Do any of you that smoke volunteer this information to parents without them having to ask?

[dEHmom]

Misol....Are you referring to the information about being a smoker/pet owner?

In my ad, I state the animals that I do own. But I also state this in my emails/phone calls again when I speak to a family. Part of the interview process is to see how the child/ren are with the animals. So far every parents has said having the dogs and cat are not an issue, and they actually come in and pet the dogs. But I understand for various reasons, pets can be an issue. For the most part my dogs are outside, unless the weather is bad (too cold, raining etc).

As for being a smoker, when my husband was smoking, I did advise parents IF they were concerned and asked about smoking, that I am not a smoker, my husband smokes but he does so outside. But I also advised that he works all day, doesn't get home till such an such a time, and he would never smoke in front of the kids.

[MarinaVanessa]

Im in Ca and when you have a daycare in your home you have to follow the same laws as anywhere else such as no smoking within a certain number of feet of any windows or doors , yes even in your home. so im assuming that if a daycare provider has a home daycare and smokes and needs to take a smoking break they have to have an assistant to watch the kids while they go out to do it. im not sure though as im not a smoker but i will say that a smoking daycare provider would probably be deal breaker for me.

[misol]

Misol....Are you referring to the information about being a smoker/pet owner?

In my ad, I state the animals that I do own. But I also state this in my emails/phone calls again when I speak to a family. Part of the interview process is to see how the child/ren are with the animals. So far every parents has said having the dogs and cat are not an issue, and they actually come in and pet the dogs. But I understand for various reasons, pets can be an issue. For the most part my dogs are outside, unless the weather is bad (too cold, raining etc).

As for being a smoker, when my husband was smoking, I did advise parents IF they were concerned and asked about smoking, that I am not a smoker, my husband smokes but he does so outside. But I also advised that he works all day, doesn't get home till such an such a time, and he would never smoke in front of the kids.

Yes, I was referring to volunteering the fact that you're a smoker without having the parents ask first.

[QualiTcare]

Smokers and pet owners - please keep in mind that just because someone doesn't mention anything about you having a pet or being a smoker doesn't mean that they cannot smell cigarette smoke or your pet's scent on you.

true, i wouldn't think everyone would be like, "man, you smell like smoke!"
but if people you are close with and are near every day (especially when they consider themself to be able to smell smoke a mile away) tell you they are shocked when they find out months later when you've been doing it all along -it's pretty safe to assume you don't smell.

my mother is one of those people who hates smoke and says she can smell it "a mile away" but she never said a word about being able to smell it UNTIL she "caught me" smoking one day. now, i was never what i would consider a regular smoker and def. not a heavy smoker. at one point, i was smoking regulary, but it was maybe 4 a day. anyhow, after she found out i had been smoking, every time i came around it was "ugh, u smell like an ashtray" even though she never noticed before she knew.

i think it has a bit of a placebo effect. there was one time i straight out told her, "you're full of crap!" because i went to the mall, bought my daughter an outfit, put it in the trunk of my car, and then took my daughter to my mother's house to stay the night. when i picked her up, she complained about how her outfit (that went from JCPenny's into a bag, into my trunk, and spent ten minutes there before going into her house) smelled like SMOKE! You should've seen her stutter when I told her I had just bought it and brought it over. Of course, she couldn't say she was wrong. :: Not to mention my daughter or her clothes had never smelled like smoke either before D-day (when she found out I had smoked).

I don't even smoke now. I just think it's funny how my experiences played out.

[misol]

true, i wouldn't think everyone would be like, "man, you smell like smoke!"
but if people you are close with and are near every day (especially when they consider themself to be able to smell smoke a mile away) tell you they are shocked when they find out months later when you've been doing it all along -it's pretty safe to assume you don't smell.

my mother is one of those people who hates smoke and says she can smell it "a mile away" but she never said a word about being able to smell it UNTIL she "caught me" smoking one day. now, i was never what i would consider a regular smoker and def. not a heavy smoker. at one point, i was smoking regulary, but it was maybe 4 a day. anyhow, after she found out i had been smoking, every time i came around it was "ugh, u smell like an ashtray" even though she never noticed before she knew.

i think it has a bit of a placebo effect. there was one time i straight out told her, "you're full of crap!" because i went to the mall, bought my daughter an outfit, put it in the trunk of my car, and then took my daughter to my mother's house to stay the night. when i picked her up, she complained about how her outfit (that went from JCPenny's into a bag, into my trunk, and spent ten minutes there before going into her house) smelled like SMOKE! You should've seen her stutter when I told her I had just bought it and brought it over. Of course, she couldn't say she was wrong. :: Not to mention my daughter or her clothes had never smelled like smoke either before D-day (when she found out I had smoked).

I don't even smoke now. I just think it's funny how my experiences played out.

This is pretty funny. And you are probably so right about the placebo effect! There is a difference between hating the smell of something and being allergic to it though. With a person who is truly allergic, their body will react to it whether they can actually smell it or not.

[momofboys]

Here, it used to be that we couldn't smoke within 25-50 feet of a business or public building. Then, last spring they passed the law of no smoking IN any business (including restaurants and bars), and the first law went away. Ashtrays are now right outside the doors of buildings. My way of thinking (and I'm thinking specifically of our local bowling alley) if I was a non-smoker, I would much rather have the smokers smoking in the bar (away from everyone else and the kids) than standing right outside the only door that people enter, and have to walk through the "white cloud" of smoke. In fact, as a smoker, I would much rather be IN the bar than right outside the door, as I'm very conscious of and respectful to the non-smokers.

Anyway, back on topic - for daycares here in MI, we cannot smoke on our property during business hours. However, if you have a property of several acres, you can go out an acre (or however many feet it is) and still smoke on your own property.

The problem with this is that smoke does tend to drift. It doesn't just stay in one spot. So in the bowling alley you may think it is not affecting you b/c you didn't walk through it but then when you get home your clothes & hair stink even though you were not smoking or near any smokers. Some days when we are at the park there will be a parent smoking say 40-50 feet away from us & you would think yes they are being polite to not stand amongst the children but smoke drifts & typically we smell it regardless of where the smoker is standing.

I live in Ohio & we are smoke-free for any indoor business/restaurant/bowling alley etc. Even our local zoo (at least the one I go to) is smoke-free too. I now can enjoy going to the bowling alley without smelling like I've been in a bar all night!