Smoke if ya got 'em

I haven’t written in awhile. I’ve done this because, despite my stated goal, I haven’t had much to write about. But I saw a news article just now, and my emotions are up. Here’s the deal.

I’m generally a pretty sensitive person. When someone has a problem, I very often take it to heart. I like helping people, and I like seeing them be helped. But there is one group of people I have a lot of trouble empathizing with. I have a hard time understanding smokers who complain that they smoke.

I’m sure I’ll catch hell for this from someone, but I can’t help it. Close to half of the cigarette smokers I have met have essentially said to me, “Yes, I smoke, but I don’t like it. Gee, I wish I could quit.”

And my answer is, “No, you don’t.” If you wanted to quit, really wanted to, then you would. If you really cared that it was bad for you, you wouldn’t start in the first place. And once you’ve stopped, you’d keep temptation away from yourself to avoid starting up again.

It gets even worse. Now there’s a pill to help smokers quit. (Mind you, it’s only short-term so far.) This is in addition to those patches that advertise their ability to insert addictive chemicals directly into your bloodstream, rather than have you go to the trouble of smoking them. (Can’t they make a patch for crack users? Call it Cocanoid^TM. “Do away with all those clumsy tubes, syringes, and razor blades. Get your high with style. Talk to your doctor about Cocanoid^TM”)

So let me sum up. People choose, of their own free will, to take a drug that they know will create health problems for themselves and those around them and shorten their life spans. Then they can take a drug that will help them to stop taking the first drug. But it may be that, after all that, they’ll start taking the nicotine again anyway. I just don’t get it.

And before you start, let me say, no, I’ve never really been addicted to anything. I’ve never smoked, I only drink occasionally, I don’t do drugs. Some smart-ass out there will probably say “But you’re addicted to breathing and eating!” (I know this because, as I kid, I used to be that smart-ass.) Eating and breathing are not addictions. They are necessary for life. Smoking is not.

And here’s what really pisses me off. Phillip-Morris, to use an example (though I am sure they are not alone), makes a point of advertising how helpful their website is to help people stop smoking. If you go there, you can read about the ingredients of cigarettes, how they are bad for children, pregnant women, old people, young people, middle-aged people, addicts, and those who are just starting. They will tell you that smoking causes emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer. They will tell about the negative effects of secondhand smoke. They will give advice to those who are addicted and want to quit. They will urge teens not to pick up the practice.

But, of course, they still want you to buy their product.

Hey, I have a brilliant idea! Let’s try this. If Phillip-Morris truly is concerned about the effects of cigarettes, if they want people to be able to quit, if they don’t want teenagers starting, if secondhand smoke bothers their conscience, why don’t they stop selling cigarettes?

Or is that too obvious?