The BIG question

As I listen to my dear friend of many years explain why he's taken up smoking again, I endeavor to make any sense out of what he's telling me. He tells me that it's really a number of things that have brought him back to this habit; his financial worries, his tension at work, his always feeling ill & having to go to see his doctor for tests all the time. I sort these things in my head & wonder which part of all this is 'fixed' by taking up smoking again. Smoking certainly doesn't take away financial problems. As far as I know anyway, they haven't yet started paying us to smoke. And I don't know what a pack of cigarettes is in other countries like Canada or England, but I know here in the US it's approx. $2.50 & in California I think somewhere around $4.00. There's also a ballot measure in California calling for a 300% increase in the tobacco tax in an attempt to make it too expensive for people to light up. That'll sure alleviate financial woes for smokers.

And even though this strategy hasn't shown it works in other states toward slowing smokers or cigarette sales down, you can bet it's only a matter of time before they impliment it.
Then it's created a black market & smuggling problems; an incentive for criminal organizations (terrorist groups included) to have this avenue for crime. Which in turn becomes an even bigger burden on an already over-burdened law enforcement agency.
Just something else for smokers to stress over, huh? Even though they've created the problem with their addiction much the same as the drug user has.

But I digress...
My friend says he's always feeling awful. Well yes, I can see where lighting up a cigarette first thing upon waking is going to just make him feel so much better! Dragging in that wonderful carcinogen-packed smoke is going to add years to his life I'm sure. And if by some stroke it didn't remove years, the quality of those years would be extraordinary, wouldn't it? Just think what he has to look forward to. Aside from the spat of different cancers and lung diseases, & those other peachy problems we have drummed into our heads daily (if we're listening) there is also hair loss, cataracts, depletion of vitamins A & C, wrinkling, tooth decay, osteoporosis, stomach ulcers, psoriasis, deformed sperm (leading to questionable offspring) Buergers Disease, not to mention those lovely yellow-brown teeth & fingers. Only your best friend would tell you this baby, but you're no joy to be around & you really stink too!

What makes it even more of a mystery to me is that my friend already has been scared in the past when they found an unexplained shadow in his throat. This scared him so much the day he got that phone call. All his friends gathered around & assured him that things would be fine; he had an advantage now because he was smart enough not to smoke!

Well, strike that 'cuz he does now!

I look at my friend & he is no longer a boy...not even a teen. He is a man in his mid forties. A seemingly intelligent individual. I say seemingly because with all that we know now & with all that he's been scared with, he still dips into his meager funds & buys something that will reduce the quality of his life even further than it is.

When I was growing up, smoking was what you did. It was your passage into adulthood. You crossed that invisible childhood line...puberty came & went & you did the 'grown up' things. That's not to say they were smart things; only that they were what we saw our parents & our parents friends doing. As well as all those very cool characters in our favorite films.

At 40, this shouldn't have any impact on our conciousness. Or at least one would hope. I so wish I could fathom the rationale behind this choice. Maybe once I was privy to the principle, I could reach some understanding of this inane practice.