April 28, 2004
Wednesday

I agree quitting smoking is a very hard thing to do. Almost next to impossible for those who think they want to quit but are not quite ready yet. However, I do believe here we are talking about whether or not a person really wants to quit. I gave up smoking about eight years ago - maybe a little longer. What motivated me? Finding out I was going to be a mother. With the news I was pregnant and the simple fact smoking made me very ill. I also knew what smoking would do to my baby, every time I would take a drag and inhale, the oxygen would be cut off to my unborn child. I personally couldn't do that to my baby.

Plus there was also the harmful effects that I knew that second hand smoke would have on my child when born. We talk about freedom to choose, but what about those people around you who breath in the second hand smoke? It was not our choice to light the cigarette, so is it really about freedom to choose? How about the children of smokers, is it their choice to breath in the second hand smoke of their parents who smoke?

I know that some people probably still don't believe that smoking cigarettes and exposing their kids or anyone's kids for that matter has a harmful affect on them. I ask then, why is asthma so high in our children today? Why do we see more sick children with ear infections, upper respiratory infections? If you look at the statistics, more kids who are exposed to daily second hand smoke tend to become sick more often than ones not exposed to second hand smoke.

What I find hard to understand is with all the information about the deadly effects of second hand smoke or smoking period, why do people continue to smoke cigarettes? I can understand them taking the risk with their health and well being, but I can never understand exposing children to it.

I don't see still how we can say it's about freedom to choose when many people's right to choose are taken away when they are subjected to having to breath in the second hand smoke of the smokers. So is it really about one's right to choose?

I just want to add if someone really wanted to quit they would and could. My parents are an excellent example of quitting cold turkey. It took my father having a heart attack on Christmas Eve. Luckily he survived and of course needed to make some changes, quitting smoking was one of them. My mother didn't have to quit, but she loves my father and did it for him. They both smoked almost 2 1/2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day. How did they do it? They took the remaining cartons of cigarettes and any packs of cigarettes and threw them away. So if you really really want to quit, you will and nothing would stop you. It's all about mind over matter.

I am sure you are all tired of my ranting so I will go for now.. take care and enjoy this nice weather while it lasts.

Brandi Conway
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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