Don't Do It!

I started smoking when I was in elementary school.  They were long, white cylinders of wintergreen candy with red painted on one end.  My girlfriends and I would play house and sit and feel sophisticated as we sucked on these sugary things.

Smoking was exciting.  All the movies stars smoked, just watch any old film to see them light up.  Women, who seldom smoked, all of a sudden became the leaders in promoting smoking.  They had long cigarette holders, and made it look very glamorous.  The movie Now Voyager, made it romantic.  When Paul Hendrid put two cigarettes in his mouth, lit them and then gave one to Betty Davis, it was the height of romance.  We all wanted to have a boyfriend who would light our cigarettes.

I was about fourteen when I started to smoke.  I hated the taste, but forced myself to keep it up until it didn't bother me.  I continued smoking until I was in my fifty's. 

Lots of advertisement added to the picture.  I remember John Wayne endorsing cigarettes.  Later in life, when he was dying of cancer he encouraged people to quit smoking.  There were slogans for each brand.  "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should."  "I'd walk a mile for a camel." 
Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch."  (usually a picture of a beautiful woman with a black eye and a cigarette in her hand.) Then there was the Old Gold dancing cigarette pack, a life size package with beautiful legs dancing around the stage.  The one that really gets me is the picture of a doctor holding a pack of Lucky's with the words, "Your Dr. wants you to smoke."  How much more encouragement does one need?

In the early sixty's they discovered that smoking was one of the causes of lung cancer, Emphysema  and heart problems.  A lot of sponsors dropped their ads on TV.  The movies quit showing so many people smoking.  Now it was usually the criminal shows that had the bad guy with a cigarette.ma

When my husband had his fourth coronary, the Dr. told him if he wanted to live he had to stop smoking.  I knew if I kept smoking, my husband would not give it up so, even though I didn't want to quit, I did it for him.

Now I hear so many people say, "I plan to give it up.  I'll try this year."  STOP it now.  Do you realize whet you are doing to yourself?  My niece has Emphysema  and can barely breath.  It cannot be cured.  There are ways to help her breathe, but it is not pleasant even at it's best.

Three people in my family, who smoked, have died.  Two from cancer and one from emphysema. 

My husband worked in open heart surgery and he said if everyone who smoked could see the inside of a smoker they would quit.  The lungs looks like it is covered in tar. Gross.

I beg you to quit.  If you are thinking of starting, be smart.  Don't.  When I started they weren't aware of the danger.  Now they know, why would you do it?  Remember, your body is the Temple of God.  Don't destroy the temple.

Until next time,
Be kind to one another