Coalition for Smokefree Housing
Photovoice Testimonials
Personal testimonials on how individuals have been affected by secondhand smoke in their community
Natalia Tellez
Hello, my name is Natalia. I am a high school student. I participate in a school sport that requires me to run every day. I run in public places such as USC and Downtown. When I am running downtown, I often see young adults either smoking, vaping, or doing marijuana in the early mornings. The affects me a lot when I am running, it causes me to stop and gasp for clean air when I should be enjoying my morning run.
Anonymous
Hello this is my testimony and my personal experience with secondhand smoke exposure. This picture may not seem like much however there is a lot of significance to this part of the building. This would be the balcony of my apartment complex that had a screen door that we would open on humid summer nights and there used to be an old lady who lived above us that would smoke a lot. This smoke often would get into our place and I would be exposed to the fumes even though there are clear policies in place which prohibits tenants from smoking indoors. They were told to smoke 5 feet outside away from the apartment, however there are still many problems with this since kids walk home from school and have to hold in their breath whenever they pass by people who smoke around these complexes that these kids live in. This furthers the point that secondhand smoke is an inconvenience and a disservice to the community. Thank you for listening.
Cristian Lemus
El humo de segunda mano como lo es el cigarro la marijuana afecta a jovenes adultos y niños provocando asma, bronquitis, cancel pulmonar, y dolores de cabeza. En mi hogar que es un edificio sufrimos por los vecinos que salen a fumar a sus balcones a todas horas por las noches.
Jeylin Lemus
Secondhand smoke is something that anyone can get quickly by just smelling the contaminated air. Secondhand smoke is when someone smokes something more with tobacco products. Some examples of stuff with tobacco products is cigarette, cigar, hookahs, or pipe.
Anonymous
I haven’t been really affected by second hand smoking, just the awful smell, but one of my neighbors has been affected by it. One of the reasons why my neighbor got really sick is because close to the entrance of the apartment, at night some people would smoke weed and drink and they won’t stop smoking which has caused my neighbor to get respiratory damage. Although the manager has tried to kick out the people that smoke outside, they sometimes come back at night and leave the cigarettes on the floor which has caused the manager some problems because after all he has to be the one to clean them up in order for the street to be cleaned.
Dayra Aguilar
In my testimony, I chose to write about the exposure to smoke around my community. I'd like to talk about how I was exposed to smoke on a daily basis. I would walk to school every day around a few blocks away from school, and every day I would see people smoking around the area. I'd think to myself, maybe I should stand up to them because I was not the only person or student who would walk through this area to get to school. Although I was a bit scared because I was too scared to go up to people I didn't know. We've exchanged a few good mornings but that's about it, but I still thought about how some people didn't like the exposure to smoke, especially as their walking to school or just taking a walk. I feel like schools should be aware of their surrounding as their own students arrive at school and go back home after school.
Adriana Aguilar
Even though my household doesn’t smoke at all as well as my neighbors because it isn’t allowed inside just outside the apartments. Where I can say the places I breathe in smoke is when I’m walking in the streets by Westlake because there’s always people smoking there. There’s many people without a home smoking when they don’t know the consequences that can cause other people. Many people pass by there such as kids. I believe that this is a problem that should be stopped because it won’t lead to people having health problems and air pollution since it hasn’t gotten worse.
Andrea Aguilar
Smoking has been a pain around my community a lot and happens daily. It’s been a pain since I want to avoid it since it’s bad for your health. I see people outside smoking while I am trying to take a walk. They are smoking freely and there's nothing I can do for them to stop them from smoking . It affects me since it’s so strong to the smell i could already recognize when it's cig and etc, I really don’t like it.
Nelida Munoz
Mi nombre es Nelida Munoz y vivo en una unidad de un edificio que esta junto un callejon. Por lo tanto, me afecta el humo que despiden las personas que se ponen a fumar por fuera. El humo de segunda mano llega a mis ventanas, por lo cual es un olor fuerte. Afuera y enfrente de mi edificio tambien fuman y usan otras sustancias como los cigarros con olores muy penetrantes. Este humo afecta a mi y a mi familia, tanto el cigarro, como los cigarros electronicos. Esto tambien afecta mucho nuestra comunidad al ver que las personas que fuman, tambien tiran su basura en la calle, banquetas, y jardines. Me gustaria un lugar, un espacio libre de todos los contaminantes.
Julia Venegas
Mi nombre es Julia, fui fumadora por muchos anos sin saber que en el futuro iba a ser afectada en mi salud y afectar a muchas personas, como mi familia y mi perrito. El fumar o estar expuesto al cigarrilo trae conciencia, como a las personas embarazadas que pueden tener hijos prematuros, exponerse al cigarillo de segunda mano de dolor de cabeza, vomitos,etc. Despues que uno dejo de fumar los conocimientos son terribles por que despues que comer quieres vota...
Adriana Ruiz
El humo de segunda mano afecta a mi comunidad de la manera que las personas fuman en lugares donde exponen a ninos a personas mayores o con problemas respiratorios. Yo vivo en un apartamento...
Patricia Ortega
El humo de segunda mano afecta a muchas personas. Yo y mi familia hemos sido afectados. Mi esposo y my hijo sufren de alergias y cuando se esponen al humo de segunda mano les enpeoran sus alergias. He llamado a la policia, pues mis ventanas dan a un callejon y hay muchos homeless que fuman cigarrilos electronicos, marijuana pero no pueden hacer nada porque no hay una ley en Los Angeles.
Alecia Valerio
Mi familia somos afectados por el cigarro. El humo de segunda se encuentra en nuestros pasillos de nuestro edificio, esta en todas partes del edificio. El futuro de nuestros hijos esta en peligro. Esto trae enfermedades y mucha adicion.
Sandra Lemus
En mi familia el humo de segunda mano nos han afectado en diferentes maneras porque tengo dos hijos con asma y en mi persona me provocaba sangrado de nariz y muchas veces hasta me cuesta respirar y debido a eso hemos tenido que cambiar de area por el exeso de humo pero a persar de todavia me gustaria que ubieran parques libres de tabaco para que nuestros ninos no esten viendo como son afectadas las areas familiares.
Anonymous
There are always smokers out here on this bench when I am walking to and from my classes. It's frustrating because I'm trying to further my education, yet just walking between classes, I'm affected by secondhand smoke.
Victor Vargas
Yo vengo de una famillia donde estuvimos expuestos mucho anos por el humo de segunda mano. Mi padre era la persona que siempre fumo dentro de nuestro hogar. Por lo cual ami personalmente me afecto mucho. La mas afectada fue mi madre lo cual siempre estuvo con mi padre. Es muy triste la adiccion al cigarrillo. Yo lo vi con mi padre lo cual nunca deseo fumar. Mi padre fallecio de enfesyma pulmonar. Ahora en el lugar que vivo el humo de marijuana se a incrementado en el edificio donde vivimos. Tenemos 4 nietos los cualso nos preocupa por el humo de segunda mano. Por eso asisto a talleres para poder ayudar a mi comunidad. Para que aiga conciencia y juntos podemos salvar a muchas mas personas de el humo de segunda mano.
Erika Maravilla
Personalmente me afecta el tabaco anos atras. Mi papa empeso a fumar cuando tenia 14 anos de edad. En mi adolecencia le decia que si algun dia iba a dejar de fumar. Hace 16 anos el dejo de fumar.
Carmen Rocha
Cada que voy a comprar a la marketa paso por donde hay gente fumando cigarro, marihuana, y me afecta mucho porque me arden los ojos y me da tos. Todo el humo lo respiro es muy fuerte. El olor nos dana mucho. Pasan ninos. Ese humo los absorven tambien ellos. Es triste ver como jovenes usan marijuana y no se ponen a pensar que danan a la gente con tanto humo. Ojala si tuvieran programas para ayudar a tnata gente que fuma cigarros. Mi comunidad esta llena de gente que fuma. Que tristeza me da.
Tania Melchor
Soy madre de 3 ninos menores de edad y ellos padesen del asma. Vengo luchando con este problema mas de 10 anos. Mi vecino que tengo en la parte de abajo del apartamento fuma todos los dias, consume tabaco y marihuana. Esto nos afecta a mi y mis hijos ya que el humo entra por ventanas el cuarto, y la sala. Eh intentado hablar con la manager y su respuesta a