Me too! Well, I might not end up in the hospital. Dr. diagnosed me as a baby with a tobacco allergy. My parents reinterpreted that as "only the fresh tobacco when they're processing it on the farms in Kentucky, now that we're in FL you're alright."
Both chain smoked, and when in the car together had the AC on / windows up.
It gave me a terrible headache and itchy eyes... but since it wasn't more than that dad didn't pay attention. Thankfully when it was just mom and me she always put the window down a couple inches and held her cigarette near it since he wasn't there to complain about the AC.
I still remember being singled out and subjected to searches at school because I smelled like smoke and they thought I was lighting up in the bathroom. But I was convinced not to ever touch them by seeing my mom in her desperate moments. She started at 14, everyone was doing it, and then married a heavy smoker, which compels each along like some sort of competition.
I imagine it was very hard to change mindsets when they grew up with everyone smoking everywhere, and suddenly in that decade they were being told "no smoking in this restaurant" or offices, etc.
I actually felt rather defensive, for my mom at least, when it shifted to "no smoking outside this building" it made it really hard. And ever so many times she had to leave a fun moment to satisfy that master.
We took a fun trip back to Australia when I was 11. The flight was not fun for her, and thus not for me. We had to stop in LA first, she jogged around that terminal looking for a smoking room or door to the outside even though they didn't offer either at that time and she knew it. The time between the connecting flights ran out and I think she seriously contemplated not getting on the plane.
Nowadays she smokes outside for me. My allergies got worse as an adult. I had to really really stomp my foot down to get that change. But now she says she's glad of it because it's better for the house walls / curtains / bedsheets / and her clothes smell better.
We recently watched a tv show where the interrogator (in the 60's) lights one up and puffs the smoke at the main character. Mom was like "Hey!"... so it's kinda funny/nice how minds can change.
