Smoking
Smoking is one of the worst things people do in this country, and when compared to all the weirdness of America, that's saying a
lot. Smoking goes further than America, of course, and in every country, every incarnation of smoking, no matter what it is one
smokes, is one of the worst habits any person can pick up.
I don't have to go into what smoking is, because a one year old knows what smoking is. Instead, let's talk about some of the
dangers of smoking, just to get them out of the way. Lung cancer is a big one; more than 90% of people who get lung cancer got
it from smoking. Emphysema, or difficulty breathing; between 80 and 90% of all the people who get this disease are smokers.
There are other cancers also; mouth, throat, tongue, esophagus, bladder, kidney, etc.
What causes addiction to smoking? For cigarettes, tobacco to be more defined, it's the nicotine content. Nicotine is an addictive
drug that causes changes in the brain to make people want to use it more and more. For marijuana, it's something known as THC
(delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), which is a mind altering drug that, in some ways, can reduce pain, but in many more ways can
cause a person to become lethargic, schizophrenic, paranoia, and almost always is the first drug someone uses before moving on
to other, more serious forms of drugs. Today's marijuana isn't the same stuff your parents might have been using even 15 years
ago. It's more toxic and potent now, easily more addictive and powerful, and harder to give up once used a few times, compared
to the past.
That's the science stuff. Now the stuff you don't hear all the time. Smoking causes changes to skin that makes someone look
older. It's been proven that someone who smokes 10 or more cigarettes a day for a minimum of 10 years is more likely to develop
deeply wrinkled, leathery skin than a nonsmoker. It also has been shown that people who smoke for a number of years tend to
develop an unhealthy yellowish hue to their complexion. A study conducted in 2002 showed that facial wrinkling can be seen under
a microscope in smokers as young as 20. That sounds pretty, doesn't it? There aren't many reliable statistics on second hand
smoke, only that there exists dangers to those who are made to hang around smokers, such as children, and New York state has even
gone so far as to make it illegal to smoke where the staff may be confronted with it, as a worker's compensation law.
Speaking of laws, there are 28 states which now allow employers to make a condition of employment not smoking anytime, anywhere,
which includes your personal life, or risk the loss of insurance coverage, or your job. No, I don't support this law at all, but
it's there, and it's growing.
Smoking changes your voice. Most singers don't smoke today because they understand that their voice is their instrument. But
you can easily tell the changes in sound from someone who's been smoking even five years, as the voice gets deeper and raspier
over time. Not only that, but the quality of the singing decreases, as that smokers cough starts to develop, and it's harder
to take those deep breaths needed to not only hit those high notes, but to extend a note for a long period of time. Smoker's
cough; that's always nice to hear coming from someone else, eh?
Smoking also smells. I'm here to tell you smokers that we all know who you are. There's no mistaking that smell when you've just
come from outside after your cigarette break, then you get near the rest of us. If you smoke, your house smells, your clothes
smell, and your breath smells; trust me on this one. I can't remember how many times I'd come home from a club back in the day
and immediately take my clothes off at the front door and put them in a plastic bag, and I didn't smoke. Parents, if you smell
this on your kids, they're probably smoking, or hanging around others who smoke, and if they're hanging around others who smoke,
they're smoking; yeah, I said it. Now, this doesn't mean if you get a whiff of it that they're smoking, because sometimes you
can't get away from it, but if they come into the house and aren't complaining about it, and aren't trying to get those clothes
off ASAP, they're probably smoking.
And, I hate to be the one to bring it up, but smoking doesn't look cool anymore. Sure, the movies of the 40's and through the
60's might have made it seem like the coolest people were the ones who smoked, but all that has changed as word has gotten
around as to just how dangerous long term smoking is. Most movies today have the criminals as the one who are smoking. In
today's world, most kids start smoking because of peer pressure, or because their parent's smoked; 'do as I say, not as I do'
doesn't work anymore either. If the rising price of cigarettes, mainly related to taxes, doesn't deter someone from smoking,
what else can it be?
Smoking; don't start it, don't do it, and if you're already doing it find a way to quit. No, it won't be easy, but it's necessary
to your health, your family and friend's health, and your wallet.
