I was having lunch at an outdoor cafe with a new friend of mine the other day. I say “new” because I met him after I had quit smoking about a year and a half ago. Therefore, he’d never known me as a smoker nor had I ever shared with him my history of smoking.

A few tables away sat another couple, one of whom was relaxing with an after-lunch cigarette. My friend spotted him and immediately began ranting (the way so many non-smokers do) about how idiotic smokers are. Now, even though I no longer smoke, I did take offense to his comments – so much so that I felt the need to speak up in defense of smokers.

I explained to him that no matter when, why, or how a smoker starts smoking, it quickly becomes a powerful addiction. In fact, the addiction to cigarettes is far more powerful and difficult to quit than the addictions to heroine, cocaine, and all the other addictive drugs. That’s because cigarettes and the chemicals found in them attack people from so many different angles – physically, psychologically, and habitually. Add to that the fact that cigarettes are legal and easy to obtain (as opposed to any of the other illicit drugs) and it’s easy to see why it’s so difficult for smokers to stop.

The Centers for Disease Control have been airing new videos aimed at illustrating some of the more serious effects of smoking. My reaction to watching them is to realize, even more so, just how addictive smoking really is. I mean, if people continue smoking to the point of suffering such catastrophic physical disabilities as demonstrated by the people in these videos then it must be one helluva difficult addiction to break. Posted here are a just a couple of the new CDC video ads. Take a look and let me know what you think:

Leave a Reply

You must be registered and logged in to post a comment.