Please read

When we list reasons why we like our quit, one of the top reasons is "smelling good". I would like to share a story. It is not about smelling good, it is about breathing. Today I took my love of life dog Sky along with my boyfriend who has never smoked (neither of them) on an 8 mile hike. I was having some problems getting my breath at times,quit smoking now, so were they. This is at a state park and lots of woods up and down trails. I have smoked for over 40 years.My dad died on 9/11/1982 at the age of 57. My mother died 1/29/2003 at the age of 78. Both of them smoked a pack a day for all their lives. My dad died of lung cancer. They had an accounting practice. Both were CPAs. After dad died mom carried on the business. I went into business with her about 15 years ago. Mom never quit smoking. She began losing her best girlfriends one by one. She said, it was their loss. She never lost any clients but I know some of them just could not wait to get out of the office because my mom smoked right there in front of them. Her philosophy was, if they did not like it, they could leave. Little by little she quit doing things and going places because of the Nonsmoking laws. Soon she retired for good and just sat and read and watched TV and smoked and smoked and smoked. Her friends quit coming to the house because of the smell. Her doctor wanted to put her on oxygen at night at least but she refused!! She was getting confused and forgetful, so we had lots of tests done,stop smoking, all of which were negative for Alzheimers or the like. It was lack of oxygen to the brain because of her smoking. We quit going lots of places because she could not walk very fast. Never, ever did she ever blame it on the cigarettes. She always said, "I enjoy smoking, it is all I have left to enjoy" . Soon mom stopped doing her housework and hired a house cleaner. She said she deserved it for working hard all her life. Soon mom did not even go out to the mailbox. She did not have the energy. The cigarettes were sucking the life out of her. But she would proudly claim, my chest x-ray is good, no lung cancer for me!!! Mom was too young to die. I left her house and a couple hours later when I did not get her on the phone, I checked on her and she had died on the couch, just sitting there, an overturned ashtray......It was about breathing and the smell. She lost her friends. She could not longer breathe. She would never, ever consider quitting smoking. Because she enjoyed her cigarettes.Thanks for listening. This time of year I am feeling the sorrow of losing both of my parents to the nicotine monster. Not one puff. Not tonight.