Hi train travel buddies. I've been on a work related trip the last 2 days. We stayed in a casino hotel and even though the rooms were all non-smoking now, the odor of stale cigarette smoke lingers somehwhere in the background even in this very nice hotel. The casino floor only had a small section that was non-smoking. All the rest of the place, including the "Bingo Palace" was a smoker's paradise... And this ex-smoker's reminder of many of the reasons I don't want to be a smoker, not the least of which is I don't want to be an (active) addict.
I realize I'll always be a nicotine addict and must conduct myself in accordance with the Law of Addiction (if you're unclear on that one, look for the Joel Spitzer video of the same name) to stay quit. It was sad to see so many people, most of whom were older ladies, chain smoking and knowing they "have to" smoke. The pervasive smoke also gave me a low-grade headache and made me feel a little queasy. There were a few moments during the course of the trip that I thought, "This is a time when I would have liked having a smoke." These moments didn't occur in the cloud of smoke in the casino. Most of the time there, the smoke was pretty disgusting but I didn't fixate on it much. I'm so glad to be free!