Air Importance

A huge problems affecting smokers is the mentality of being a smoker. Most smokers start smoking and forget to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unless their job is physically demanding it is as though all activities, sports and hygiene stop.

I am a smoker; however, I stay active. Hiking seven miles isn't a big deal. I have been smoking for over ten years. You can't say, "The consequences are less noticeable because it is something I just started doing, so what do I know."

Even when smoking, keep moving. As a teenager, everything was easy. Almost everyday I walked to the store or a friend's house. There were always activities at school or spontaneous events like dances, martial arts or sudden races to the car. As a young adult, dancing kept me healthy without noticing a consistent workout.

As an adult there aren't as many activities. Without thinking everyday involves getting up, going to the car, going to work and sitting in a cubical all day. Relaxation involves sitting around, watching television or sitting around someone else's house watching television. This is a problem for most people.

As a smoker this lack of activity took its toll quickly. At about nineteen or twenty I went hiking. Hiking to Secret Lake was exhausting and embarrassing. It isn't a long hike, only about a mile. I couldn't do it. Every quarter of a mile, I had to stop and cough up spit. I tried the trek several times until only stopping to catch my breath not smoke. Then the hike was easy, until inviting a couple smoker friends to hike with me. They had the same problem I did. It was irritating having to acknowledge health problems.

It wasn't easy getting back into the habit of exercising. Going on increasing longer hikes I went up the Big Water Trail. Spitting out so much mucus it was ridiculous I was delirious for a while. Now it is no problem. Hiking through the mountains is not problematic, while hiking beyond places considered a lengthy trek.

The hygiene part of smoking, it is gross to a degree. As a preteen, long before I ever smoked, a woman who smoked in her home needed help getting her apartment clean because she was moving. I remember her taking a mop, with the sponge on the end, to wipe off the walls. The walls were a yellowish gray. Everywhere the mop touched the walls turned white. It was a disgusting experience. Later on at a coffee shop that allowed smoking, I rubbed a circle of the residue off the wall. The owner got mad at me, because now he would have to repaint everything. I mentioned washing the walls would make them all the same color again.

Smoking outside is an easy solution. If already smoking in your home clean the walls occasionally with ammonia. Regular people can do this for spring cleaning.

Air quality is another important factor. Heaters or air conditioner have filters that need to be changed every month while in use. This is also regular home maintenance. People can actually die if air filters get clogged and heaters start leaking gas. Air conditioners emit carbon dioxide a silent and deadly killer.

In addition, take time to clean around areas collecting air for heaters and air conditioners. Often heaters are in the basement or garage. Think about the last time cleaning the garage and imagine what is being sent into every room of the house. Having oil rages and gasoline containers next to intake vents is not a good idea. Gas is going into the main source of fresh air.

Other than that it is all about basic hygiene and maybe some extra maintenance. Every once in a while I rinse with hydrogen peroxide and buy toothpaste with fluoride.

When washing clothes in a washing machine use a tablespoon of borax to soften water it makes clothes cleaner. I let the washing machine completely fill and swish around a few times to insure detergent is evenly distributed. Bleach stains ruin a person's day.

These are the biggest issues associated with smoking. Start using them now. There are many studies, yet facts are sitting around all day and not maintaining air quality makes people unhealthy. Whether a smoker or not, all these tips are helpful.

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