Watching my mother go through the devastating process of being diagnosed with cancer made me wonder whether she expected to ever get cancer from smoking?
And the answer is she didn't expect it. Which I find very odd given the statistics
I realise not everyone who smokes gets cancer. And there always seems to be some story about someone who lived till the age of 99, smoked ten packs a day and was never ill
But the fact is smoking causes a large range of illnesses and conditions.
I don't know what it is like to have a chemical addiction. And people from my mother's generation did not know the affects of cigarettes. But sadly cigarette smoking is still being picked up today by teenagers at an alarming rate.
And I don't understand why anyone would start smoking knowing the facts about cigarettes.
Is there anything good about smoking at all?
Is smoking a pleasurable experience before you become addicted?
Is smoking really worth the risk?
3 comments:
My mom smoked 40 years plus and got emphysema and died 7/3/98. She managed to live on oxygen 10 years, from age 62-72 so I consider that brave in itself. She was a registered nurse and like your mom, ignored obvious signs of smoking side effects. In our day, people smoked everywhere and she smoked in front of us every hour on the hour. I was born in 1960. I don't resent my mom's bad choices. She was a great person with a bad vice. But smoking was part of her identity like all people of the 40's heyday.
Thanks for your comment. I do not resent my mother's choice to smoke, given she did not know the dangers back then. But I do find myself annoyed at her for not giving it up when she did know the dangers. I also cannot understand why people would start smoking today given what we know now.
My mom is approaching her 77th birthday, has smoked for 60 years, has emphysema/COPD, spent last week in the hospital for bronchitis, and still smokes.
She says her breathing issues are from the wind.
It makes me crazy and breaks my heart.
I share your confusion over why anyone would choose to start smoking these days, knowing all we do about how bad it is. It is frustrating and at times makes me angry. I wish I could get my mom to quit, but she refuses. She **likes** smoking, she says. :/
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