My rant for today - smoking hurts people, it drills hole in their hearts, it tears families apart and it pollutes the air that the rest of us breathe.
I don't intend to start a war over smoking. Enough of that in the media. BUT I am going to have my say, here on this blog, which is mine to say what I want - as long as I don't slander people.
I have a hole in my heart directly caused by smoking. No it is not a physical hole, it is an emotional hole. Two very special people in my life have been hurt by their smoking. One just died, and the other is suffering from cancer, having chemo and is fragile and dependent on others to help her right now.
Both were heavy, heavy smokers. I loved both of them, still do, but oh, the hurt that their smoking caused not only themselves, but others around them.
As we study early colonization of America in school, one of the first things my fifth graders learn is that Jamestown survived because John Rolfe introduced tobacco to the colonies. Jamestown people were starving, many people were dying. When John Rolfe introduced tobacco to Jamestown, the first colony in America began to thrive. Tobacco was grown everywhere - in gardens, front yards, back yards, and flower beds. The King of England called it "stinky weed" but he certainly didn't turn down the money he made from the colonists growing, curing and selling tobacco. My kids are always horrified that our first permanent English colony was founded on tobacco.
I am not nor have I ever been a smoker. So I can't say what it would take to quit smoking. I've been told it is one of the hardest addictions to overcome - not speaking of illegal drugs. I don't know. What I do know is that it costs Americans millions of dollars every year in medical bills - not only for themselves but for those around them that are harmed by second hand smoke. It causes sickness and death in families - and the survivors are left to deal with the horror of a loved one dying or having to take chemo etc. etc.
Tobacco companies have to suck in nearly 400,000 people per year as new customers to replace those that have died from tobacco, first hand or second hand. It is a disgusting, filthy habit - and I wish those tobacco companies would have to witness the horrors of lung cancer, or other cancer caused by their product.
I know I can't change the world, nor can I get people to quit using tobacco. If it was in my power to do so, tomorrow - every single tobacco product would disappear, along with the seeds to grow any more.
I think the King had it right - "stinky weed" and my dad had it right - he called cigarettes "cancer sticks, or coffin nails."
QUOTE:
It is more profitable for your congressman to support the tobacco industry than your life.
