"Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff and if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hates to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette"
Tex Williams was right on the
money with that song!
If you ask any New Yorker, recent statistics, that say city folk are smoking more now than ever, are
probably justified. Some media outlets spoke to people about the Health Department’s
report – which states that there’s about a 16 percent increase over the past
couple of years in adult smokers.
What’s your reason for not
quitting and helping the numbers stay on top?
“I’m under a lot of stress.”…Well, tough – get over it! We’re ALL
under a lot of stress – doesn’t mean we want to pollute our lungs. There are
healthy ways of dealing with stress that won’t make you smell like an ashtray!
How much do you want to bet that if you actually escaped to a peaceful place where you didn’t have to “deal with stress” that
you’d still be lighting up every day?
Come on, now…
“I tried….but I can’t seem to quit.” You found a reason to light up
in the first place – probably decades ago…What’s your reason to keep smoking now? Cigarettes are probably more
expensive now than when you first started smoking. Here’s a chance to ask
yourself what made you start this awful habit and if you now have the same
excuse today. If it was “peer pressure,” as a teen, then maybe you should look
at your peers – some who are probably dying now – or are dead – from smoking-related
diseases.
“I gain a lot of weight when I quit smoking.” Aaaaaand? Women are
notorious for making this excuse. Okay, you’d rather get emphysema or heart
disease from smoking than gain a few pounds you can walk/work off. So your
health is NOT a priority. Outweigh your battles – taking care of your body and
losing weight OR having a lung transplant. You decide…
How about all of those anti-smoking
commercials the Health Department airs on television? Want a hole in your
throat or a few body parts amputated? One
of the worst commercials I’ve seen features a mother who just gave birth –
prematurely – and has to talk to her baby through an incubator since it’s
health is at risk. Really? Unless you’re a candidate for that show, “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant,” why in
the world would you light up if you’re carrying another human being inside of
you? Are you that selfish and want
your child to be born with a slew of dysfunctions/health problems?
I contend that no amount of
horrifically delivered public service announcements or “studies” will stop
people from smoking. People will come up with some of the most irresponsible
excuses possible for why they’re smoking. You might say quitting is “not as
easy as you think,” but I’m guessing it’s a lot easier to undergo surgery, hospital visits and cancer treatments?
If the Health Department is
launching new anti-smoking campaigns every few months – and they’re reporting
that more people are smoking, maybe their next “report” should be on their
own failure to influence smokers to quit! The headlines should read, “Health
Department Admits: Our Ads Aren’t Working!”
Destroying your health is a
decision you consciously make no matter which agency tries to intervene…and there
will always be irrational reasons for people to practice unhealthy habits. The
numbers and statistics are simply proof that you can’t tell us New Yorkers what
to do! Not over our dead bodies, that’s for sure…
Originally published in Canarsie Courier newspaper.
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