Smokers: Wake up
and give it up

TOO many people are caught in a web. They can't stop smoking! Most of them know smoking is life-threatening, so why not stop?

I ask people why and I always get the same answer. "It's too hard."

I don't think they're even trying. Actually, a better question might be, "Why did they ever start?"

I recently asked a friend why he started smoking. The answer was peer pressure. He wanted to fit in.

Peer pressure! How could anyone be so stupid? From my experiences, every time a nonsmoker sees a smoker, the first impression is disgust, no matter how good-looking or well-dressed the individual is.

My friend's next answer was that smoking "calms my nerves." So do a lot of other things that don't threaten your life or cost a lot of money.

Then I asked an adult. He said that back in the old days smoking wasn't considered life-threatening or bad. I respect that we have learned more about the effects of smoking since then. Yet smoking continues. This adult knows the repercussions, but he still says it's impossible to quit.

I am sick of all this smoke! Maybe it's just me, but I see no benefits to smoking whatsoever. Unless you want cancer, smelly clothes, bad breath, yellow teeth and an addiction.

I think the worst smokers are teen smokers. Some say smoking is not addicting. If it's not addicting, then whey can't all these adults quit? Haven't these teens seen the commercials selling Nicoderm?

In my book, drugs and smoking are the same thing. Addicting, life-threatening and a waste of money. Don't these people know that suicide is free? Give me the money and I'll burn it for you.

And why should nonsmokers have to suffer beside smokers? If smokers can't give up the habit, they should stay away from people and children whose lives they threaten.

I'm not just saying all these negative things about smoking simply because I think it's gross; I have already lost someone to cancer, and it worries me to see who might be next.

I have heard many cases of cancer victims getting holes in their throats. They need a special tube just to breathe! Why would people put themselves through all of that just for some no-good smoke?

Don't get me wrong, I understand that people have the right to smoke, but others have the right to a smoke-free environment. I have one goal I intend to carry out. I want to be 50 and still be able to say I have never taken a puff or a drink in my life.

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Brad Mezurashi is a junior at Castle High School.

Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
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