by Tena Kight

Created on: May 28, 2008

We make choices when we're young that are based on the feeling that we will live forever. I smoked for 11 years, starting in my teens . I didn't grasp the reality of how serious the consequences of such a bad choice could be. I truly didn't think about the harmful effects to my health.

I never blamed any one else for my choice to smoke the entire time span of three years that it took me to finally stop. I was rebellious and frankly, I was stupid, but back then I called it brave.

I don't believe any one else is responsible for my bad choice. The choice was made by me, without the support of family or doctor supervision. Everyone I admired ,except my teen piers, discouraged smoking from day one.

I am of the opinion that now days it is wide spread by schools, doctors, and several other information avenues that smoking is not healthy, so doing it any way is each persons own responsibility. This doesn't make me unsympathetic, I truly feel for the people who are trapped in the addiction that held me prisoner for years,but in the end it's still a choice no one is forced or even misled into. It's no different than not wearing a seat belt or a motorcycle helmet, we know it's not the safest idea but if we decide to do it anyway then we should be willing to take responsibility for any out come with the same persons that made that decision in the first place,(me, myself, and I).

I still rebel every now and then when I have chocolate for supper or skip my annual check up, and my personal favorite, I lay in the pool with out any sun block on. Is any of that someone Else's fault? Should I take the sun to court for damages to my skin? Maybe I should blame my doctor for not finding an illness that I never had her check on, and chocolate should pay restitution for my pain and suffering with those extra pounds.

The blame game never ends so each of us should just step up and take responsibility for our decisions both good and bad. After all, we don't want to blame someone else when a choice leads to a good outcome. If we decide to take chances even when we have information supporting the idea that it's dangerous and it turns out that the chance pays off good for us we don't want to share the blame then.

Before the news was so wide spread about the risk associated with smoking, someone could have blamed the tobacco companies, if they knew it was dangerous and hid it from their customers. But today it's no misunderstanding or hidden risk, it's an absolute high risk to your health if you smoke.If someone claims they haven't heard that before then they have been alone on a far away island for several years. They might be the only souls left that can say they didn't know it was a health risk.

It's common knowledge that smoking may be bad for us so to those who still do it you are spinning the wheel and maybe you will come up with good health anyway, but if you or I come up with any illness associated with smoking then we must be ready to deal with the consequences. It wont be easy and we will still need and deserve help and support but what we can't do is blame any one but ourself for each light up. No one ever held me captive and forced me to in-hail. I wish I could say they did and blame them that would be easier than just taking responsibility for that bad choice.

Learn more about this author, Tena Kight.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.