Ashes to Ashes

Lucky enough not to be a smoker myself I have this urge lately to tell people who I see puffing away of the dangers of cigarette smoking. I did try a few in my younger days but I never got anything out of it. I was always waiting for that eureka moment when suddenly the pleasure of nicotine would take hold and unleash it magic powers on me. But I just ended up getting sick instead. I was one of the lucky ones. My poor brother was not as fortunate as me and was over forty years smoking his health away.The worst thing as he says himself that he has ever done.

My mother was smoking from an early age and it inflicted terrible lung damage on her. I remember being in A and E one night with her and she was unable to breathe. The young doctor who was treating her at the time was very frustrated as she knew from the scan that the damage done was not repairable. Anyway as I was saying I have this urge to tell especially younger people in their teens or early twenties of the harm that they are doing to themselves. Whatever about my generation, in my younger days smoking was the done thing and people to a large extent then were oblivious to the long term harm they were doing to themselves. There was no warning on the packages. This is the generation that are aware. Lucky enough none of my children smoke. It wasn't that we ever told them not to. They probably would have done it then.

Even if you could stop one person going down that health destruction road it would be a success. If the opportunity arises and I think that I would get a positive response I will do it.