Never start smoking

Like most people my age, I have made my share of mistakes. However, one mistake I'm glad I never made was to start smoking.

We all have things we dislike, and cigarettes rank near the top of what I dislike.

I've never understood the appeal of them. They smell bad, and walking into a smoke-filled room is about as much fun as having 10-inch needles stabbed into your eyes.

When I was younger, I admit that I tried them a couple of times, but the bad taste they produced caused me not to try them any more. Not only do they taste bad, but they also impact how food tastes when we eat.

The most frustrating aspect of smoking is how addictive it is. Talk to a person who has smoked for a while, and they can provide stories of the times they've tried to quit only to give up.

I know several people who are smart and appear to have as much will power as the next person, but they can't kick this habit.

As I've gotten older I've developed a lot more compassion for people in this situation than I used to have. When I was younger, I just couldn’t understand why a person would smoke when knowing all the harm that they cause.

While I still feel that way to a certain extent, I'm not as hard hearted as I used to be. Lately, I've been around people who have tried to quit and seen the frustration they experienced when they failed.

A very common New Year's resolution for smokers is to kick the habit. I have one friend and co-worker who is currently trying that, and he is doing it cold turkey. He smoked his last cigarette on New Year's Eve, and as of this writing, he has not smoked another one.

However, it hasn't been easy. He missed a couple of days of work because he felt flat-out terrible, and he still isn't himself.

At the peak of his smoking, he only smoked about one pack a day, which is a pretty small habit compare to other smokers. I can only imagine the struggles somebody with a three or four-pack-a-day habit would go through when trying to quit.

When looking at all the harm cigarettes do, it's amazing that they still maintain a pretty high profile in our society. I won't bore you with a long diatribe of how damaging cigarettes can be. We've known for decades about the link between smoking and cancer, heart disease and other problems.

Still, I can't help but wonder how cigarettes would be received if they were presented as a brand new product today. I can only speculate, but I imagine they would not have anywhere near the stature they currently have.

Because this product has been around for such a long time, cigarettes have been allowed to stay available though with plenty of warnings. If it were a brand new product, I would like to believe the public would reject them with extreme prejudice. However, some people will always be attracted to danger so I'm sure there would be an audience for them.

As for smokers trying to quit, I hope we all will be sensitive to their needs and be supportive when possible. Their attempts to quit are noble. Quitting will not only benefit them but others around them.

After all, it's really sad to see smokers who are banished outside to smoke on these cold winter days. It shows how addictive smoking can be.

Help your neighbor if possible.