Growing up in smoke

*Carolyn spoke to Semthamera Dhaver about her childhood, her parents smoking and living with asthma.

"Pregnant, breastfeeding? Your baby can harm your smoking." I laughed at the parody of words printed on the T-shirt of a young woman I once saw through the glass windows of the smoking section of a restaurant.

Even I could appreciate the humour in this, but my amusement faded rapidly.

This seemingly healthy woman puffed happily on a cigarette and I couldn’t help but imagine the destruction it was causing to her lungs, the same effect that it had on my own.

I have suffered from chronic asthma for as long as I can remember. Both my parents smoked, but back then there were no labels on cigarette packs warning them of the dangers of smoking to themselves and small children. There were no anti-smoking and anti-tobacco campaigns, nicotine patches or chewing gum that helps one quit.

What amazes me the most is that despite all the advertising campaigns targeted at lung cancer awareness and the dangerous effects of secondary smoking on children, people still indulge in this selfish habit.

Well, I suppose, they can hardly be blamed since as they have not suffered any consequences (as yet), they see no need to stop. In some cases, smokers and their families remain unaffected. My own grandfather, who lived to a ripe old age, smoked a pipe since he was a teenager and never so much as coughed. Some of my siblings who were exposed to the same secondary smoke as I was, never developed respiratory problems. However, not everyone is that fortunate and more often than not, the effects are damaging and lasting, as it was in my case.

My mother told me she started smoking when she was pregnant with me. She did it to satisfy a craving she had for tobacco. Her craving never subsided for the next eight years as she continued to smoke, slowly becoming addicted to cigarettes. My father also smoked and I assumed it was just something grown-ups did... it seemed so to me, anyway.

At family gatherings all the adults would get together and smoke. The men eagerly offered or requested cigarettes while the women sat cross-legged in the garden puffing away on dainty cigarette holders with sleeping babies or toddlers in their arms, totally unaware of the damage it was causing to their developing lungs. I guess they were also deceived by all those cigarette adverts portraying young, athletic men and women smoking.

Secondary smoking slowly erodes the respiratory system. It is not something that occurs swiftly and so the effects are sometimes difficult to detect in its early stages. I remember times in my childhood when my parents' smoking didn’t bother me at all. I would sit on my father’s lap and try to catch the smoke rings he blew. I remember being fascinated with the cloudy streams of smoke. My parents smoking in the car were familiar preludes and conclusions to family vacations and outings.

There were large, fancy ashtrays in the lounge and my parents’ bedroom. I even remember tasting some cigarette ash and liking it. Once my father saw me eating the ash and forbade me from doing so again, saying it was bad for me. He was totally unaware that eating the ash was not as dangerous as breathing in the smoke, but then, he was the one smoking, not me... or so he believed at the time.

I also remember my mother sending me to the shop to buy her cigarettes. I was always eager to go. I recall walking back home swinging a plastic bag filled with pretty, shiny cigarette boxes and sweets I had bought with the change — the sweets were my main motivation for making numerous trips to the shop, and my mother was aware of this.

During this time I had suffered from bronchitis and experienced bouts of breathlessness, but it was only at the age of seven that I was diagnosed with chronic asthma.

Our family doctor at the time was unaware that my mother smoked but when she was diagnosed with hypertension, she was informed that her smoking may have been responsible for her condition and exacerbated or caused my asthma. She stopped smoking soon after, though with some difficulty.

My father, too, gave up smoking. Several years after quitting, he developed sleep apnea, to which his excessive smoking had significantly contributed to and which certainly aggravated his condition. While several other factors may have contributed to my asthma, smoke was definitely the strongest.

My parents do regret smoking in a house full of children. But I guess they learned from their mistakes the hard way. Now they are so cautious about smoke that they will never let any smoker near them or any of their four grandchildren.

As I grew older, my asthma got worse, especially when I was at university where about one out of every five people smoke. Even now, at 23, it is impossible to go anywhere without my asthma inhaler. Even if I walk into a room where someone was smoking hours earlier or if I smell smoke on a person’s breath or clothes, I feel by chest constricting. I find smoke totally intolerable. I would rather leave a restaurant than sit in the smoking section.

It’s like the smoke itself attacks me — taking my breath away and stinging my eyes and nostrils.

The asthma is difficult to live with. If I get too excited or upset, I can trigger an asthma attack. Even laughing too hard causes me to hyperventilate. Due to my condition, I have learnt to control my emotions to avoid triggering an attack. I have to remember to process the occurrence (good or bad) in my head before allowing my body to express how I feel. I have to tell myself: "Take it easy. Don’t get too excited, just take it in gently and slowly."

However, this doesn’t always work especially if the attack is brought on by something external like smoke, strong smelling perfume or dust.

It’s not easy to live with a condition like this. I guess in a way you are an invalid since you are always dependent on medication. It can be compared to epilepsy as it happens suddenly and affects a person terribly — not only physically but emotionally too.

According to my family doctor, it has been shown that children who live in an environment where they are exposed to secondary or passive smoke are predisposed to coughing, wheezing and asthma.

"Whatever the source, passive smoking contributes to respiratory problems and consequent diseases," he says. "While passive smoking may not always directly be responsible for respiratory defects, it does however, contribute to long-term respiratory damage.

"Smoking during pregnancy and lactation has detrimental effects on a child and leads to serious birth defects such as small lungs, small lung volumes, small birth sizes and serious respiratory disorders, asthma being the most common."

Living an active, healthy and normal life with chronic asthma can be challenging, but not impossible. Sufferers should learn more about the disease and how it is treated. While it is true that some asthmatics are affected by factors other than smoke, living with people who smoke can lead to further breathing complications.

Educating and helping others to understand the dangers of smoking — and, in particular, secondary smoking — can also be beneficial and assist to prevent not just asthma, but all types of respiratory problems in both children and adults.

* Name has been changed