by Candy Jules

Created on: October 23, 2008

A friend of mine told me a while back, "If I had known that I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." How true that is. When we're young, we look at life like "This can't happen to me." Don't be fooled. It can happen to each and everyone of us.

Smoking was a choice each of us made on our own. I'm quite sure no one was twisting our arms. To be quite honest, we all knew that it was wrong. It's expensive. I said I was going to quit when it went to fifty cents a pack. I don't even want to know how much they cost now.

I gave it up almost five years ago, and I am so glad. I had to get use to fresh air after I got over coughing all that garbage out of my lungs. I found out that I smelled better. My teeth and fingers weren't so yellow. I didn't have to dig into my ashtray in the car to find a butt because I was out. It was a nightmare for me. My kids would hide them from me so I couldn't smoke them.

At that time, I never gave a thought about my children having to breathe my second hand smoke. How selfish I was, not to have taken their health into consideration.

Smoking affects your whole life. It's a bad habit. It's an expense that no one can afford anymore, yet people keep right on smoking. It is an addiction, physically, and mentally. I've heard a lot of people who say, "Oh, they could quit if they really wanted to." It's not that simple. For a lot of people, it's a crutch to lean on. They calm their nerves when they are stressed, they cool their jets when their angry.

I never thought I would ever be able to drink another cup of coffee without a cigarette. Now I don't even think about it. I had to light up every time the phone rang. The longer the conversation, the more cigarettes I smoked. I'm not proud of it. I was stupid for ever lighting the first one. I didn't even like the taste of them. And I hate the smell after I found out what clean air was again.

My sister has COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) She will live with it till she dies with it. And it's a horrible way to die. My ex-husband, who is also my best friend, has COPD, and it's the same for him. He told me the other day, that he was already dying, what difference does it make now. But, everytime I hear him cough to the point of almost vomiting, I feel so bad for him. And there's nothing I can do for him, or her.

My sister doesn't live here anymore, so I don't have to see what she's going through, but in my heart, I know. She's younger than me. After all the years I smoked, I will probably have to pay for my years of the habit in the end. Scripture tells us, "What ye sow, so shall ye reap."

I will take my responsibility when the time comes. No one forced me to do the stupid things that I did. I had choices, and I made them. Now I may have to pay the piper. We can't go around blaming everything we do on other people. That doesn't even make good sense.

A lot of people try to sue the tobacco companies, and it's about the most irresponsible thing they could do. There has always been a warning on every pack sold. Their complaints are just a cop out. They've always known, just as I did, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

You know the old saying about leading the horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Sometimes people aren't that smart. Just because someone offers you a smoke, doesn't mean you have to take it. Same with beer, and drugs. Stand up and be and be an adult. Just don't wait until it's too late.

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