Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Do you smoke (take 2)?

I happened to find myself walking behind a smoker today on the way to work, and it suddenly struck me that it had been a very long time since I'd smelt that particular smell. That led me to the realisation that (I think) most of my Folc friends don't smoke. That in turn led me to this poll - I'm curious as to how many of us smoke.

(this is a new version of the poll with better options included)

Interesting poll, Yvonne. (And d'oh! I'd just hit post when you stuck the new one up there

So...to make a long story short...oops, too late for that ...yeah I smoke.

Sara (do I get bonus points for "coming out of the closet" first? )

Disgusting habit, if you ask me - would never even cross my mind to get started, and it costs a *heck* of a lot of money! What do you mean I used to smoke... :p

Okay. For a brief time. I'm sure you all remember back to the days when you were fifteen, always being told, "don't start smoking, *that* will kill you. And if I ever catch you doing drugs, *I* will kill you." Of course, being the (somewhat) teenage rebel as I was at the time - and that was the year I had to take a break from horseback riding, so I didn't really have anything better to do - I had to try. Started with these flower cigarettes from Poland. <g> Then onto the "regulars" (maybe just a few every week), but after a couple of months, when I started to feel "the urge" to have one, I wanted to quit.

I looked back at the incident I managed to get really sick after trying a different brand - and I remembered that. So, to "scare myself" from getting addicted, I think I smoked three or four of that same brand, and I got so sick I swear you could have seen a green pelican.

So, never again after that. It's been a long time since then, and I'm just really glad I can say that my life doesn't depend on cigarettes.

Pelican

Iwas put off cigarettes for life when I was two. <G>

My parents smoked, but both gave up when they were in their '30's.

Crawlng around, when I was two, I discovered a cigarette butt and decided it would be good to put in my mouth and taste. (Like you do when you're two. ) Well...I've never forgotten how awful that tasted.

When I got to be a teen and was under the usual peer pressure to join in with the experimentation, I was never for one moment tempted to try one. That taste was there and all I ever thought was 'ick'.

So, blessing in disguise there.

LabRat

I'm one of those who never has been tempted to smoke. As a teenager, I found it a disgusting habit, it was expensive and it made you smell terrible. But most of all, I was so big into sports, and smoking would ruin everything.

I still don't like the smell of smoke, but I've learned to live with it now. My host family smokes, and after only two weeks, I find it pretty normal and not annoying at all. I guess it's the process of growing up.

I'd rather no one would smoke, but I won't change people's minds about it. My advice will always be to not start smoking or to try to quit. But you can smoke around me now, in moderation.

Saskia

Put me in the 'intolerant of smokers' group. I had one once and threw up right after..that was a real good incentive to never try it again!

I can't imagine deliberately doing something that can out and out kill me. To each his own, but keep it away from me!

~Liz

Well, I don't smoke and never have, but I have a contrary streak (yes, I know that's a shock) and had to reply to this...

...because there are few things out there that *can't* kill you Driving a car (as opposed to staying home) greatly increases your risk of getting into an accident. Heck, you could drown or be electrocuted while taking a bath... I look at it as a cost benefit analysis -- looking at the risks and deciding if it's worth it to you.

Now, I'm not gonna argue that smoking is healthy <g> but I do think the dangers are somewhat over-emphasized. And that people (adults, anyway) have the right to decide for themselves whether or not to risk it.

PJ

I don't smoke. Never have. I tried it when I was thirteen. I'll never forget the experience. My cousin, who was 16 at the time, handed me a lit cigarette. We were in a public place, but I took it and had a drag. Just at that moment, a woman standing nearby looked at me and said "You're too young to smoke!" Scared the beejeezus out of me, so that was the end of my rebel phase.

True, Pam, people - adults - do have the right to decide for themselves if they want to take the risk of making themselves sick and perhaps even sick enough to cause death. But I can tell you that nothing will get me going more than seeing a person smoking in a car with a child inside. I have absolutely zero tolerance or respect for any adult who subjects a child to second-hand smoke. As far as I'm concerned, it's a form of child abuse.

I lived with two smokers for one semester at college. They respected my situation enough to smoke only in their own bedrooms. But even so, I always smelled like smoke. It made me crazy because I didn't want to smell that way, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.

Guess my views on smoking are pretty clear.

Lynn

Lynn, I completely and totally agree!!! I believed this before I started smoking and I still believe it now. For whatever reason (my subconscience hasn't told me yet ), I'm not ready to quit just yet. I *will* quit. People often say "yeah right" and "Uh huh." They can say what they like, but I know me. I most definitley will not smoke when I'm pregnant (drives me insane that some people actually think it's okay! ) and will *not* smoke around my children, not ever! I don't even think it's acceptable (for me) to go outside to smoke. Not with kids, nope. I will *not* be a smoker in the future and I strongly believe that.

Along those lines...I wouldn't want to marry anyone that smokes. Turns me off really. I know that must sound completely odd coming from a smoker herself, but it does. That and for the same reason I stated above, I don't want my kids to be around it in any form (you know, when I finally settle down and have some ).

Okay...sorry...just *had* to respond to that because it felt like Lynn had invaded my brain for that one. :p

Sara (who's thinking I really can't be the *only* smoker here, not with hundreds of folcs around...come on, be brave ...and about those bonus points... )

Nope, I've never smoked. I live in Planet Allergy, so considering the fact I can barely tolerate my friends smoking around me, I'm sure my sinuses would riot if I ever started lighting up. But that's probably a blessing in disguise. I'm sure I'd puff like a chimney otherwise since it's such a social thing to smoke while drinking on campus.

Everyone else in my family smoked. Most of them have quit somewhere in the past ten years. Growing up, I remember dad smoking a lot. Mom admits that she did sometimes, but she never *ever* smoked around me, so I had no idea until she said so a year or two ago.

JD

I think I must be incredibly lucky, because smoking just never appeared on my radar as a kid. Wasn't interested, no-one in my family smoked (other than my granddad, who smoked a pipe), none of my friends smoked or wanted to smoke - it was a non-issue.

I could never understand this one. I mean, I sort of understand the rebelious teenager thing, but otherwise, why do something that is just plain icky? Are there actually children out there who haven't smoked but who actually *like* the effects and smells of cigarette smoke?

Nope, I honestly can't remember my parents ever telling me not to. I just didn't. I must have been an awfully boring child.

Nope, didn't have any of that, either.

All of which leads me to the conclusion (as a non-smoker) that the less people, particularly children, are exposed to smoking, the less likely they are to take it up. Rebelious teenagers aside, alas.

Responding to Pam's point - yes, I totally uphold the right of anyone to make their own life choices, so long as they don't adversely affect anyone else. Unfortunately, smoking, unless done in splendid isolation with a lot of open space all around you, does adversely affect others.

Anyway, the reason I did this poll was because it seemed to me that there's been a significant social shift away from smoking, and it seems to be accelerating. I wondered whether that was just my wishful thinking or a reality. Incidentally, I think the poll would have different results if our membership was more Euro-centric. My experience is that smoking is more prevalent over there than it is in Britain and the USA.

Yvonne

I chose "other" because I have been a hard core Second Hand Smoker ALL MY LIFE!!!

I lived with my grandparents from birth to 3yrs and my Grandfather and uncles that lived at home smoked.

My mom and dad smoked and I even associate that smell after being away from my mom for a long time as a "good" smell, smell of welcome and security, my mom *waffy sigh*. My brother and sister picked it up and at our family reunions at least 75% of my family over age 15 smokes.

When I joined the Air Force they totally discouraged smoking and I thought, ...cool, a clean smoke free environment... but then I started hanging around the dayrooms in the dorms during weekend long D&D campaigns and wouldn't you know it...the player I hooked up with smoked like a demon, still does. I got the sort of the same thing for him as I have for my mom, whenever we've been apart for more than two days, I get close to him and inhale the intoxicating scent of Marlboro Reds, VO5 hair cream, leather, and Stetson.

I'll never smoke, but I am resigned to dying of emphysima(sp?) or some nasty form of cancer.

TEEEEEEJ

I am a very millitant non-smoker. I've never even touched a cigarette. My parents didn't smoke. My 2 grandparents I knew didn't smoke. None of my friends smoke/smoked.

When I was a kid, apparently, I hated the smell of smoke so much, when my parents went into a priest at our church's office for some reason or other, my sister and I really embarassed them by running around with our noses plugged singing about hating smoke! The priest just happened to be a very heavy smoker . In high school, I remember driving out of the parking lot, and our car being the only one we saw with not one person lighting up as we drove out.

I guess to me, it hasn't even been a question. Like Yvonne, my parents never had to say anything to me about it. My friends never pressured me in any way -- not that I could be pressured -- I'd probably pressure them .

I agree with you completely. Also, to add something -- if you've seen a friend's parent or a loved one die of lung cancer before their 50th birthday, it may also make a child less likely to take it up. I watched my friend's father die before he was 45 of lung cancer, and that just strengthened my resolve never to smoke.

- Laura

I voted "no, but I used to". I haven't bought a packet of cigarettes since June 2003 (that's when my uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer). I just stopped smoking and since then I've never felt the need for a cigarette. Mind you, I wasn't a heavy smoker to begin with (I usually had two packets a week).

I haven't regretted quitting and I'm convinced I did the right thing. Laura's right, watching someone die of lung cancer is no fun (yeah, my uncle didn't make it ), but...yes, there's a but.

LOL, El. Reminds me of that episode of Frasier where they're trying to get smokeaholic, BeBe, to quit and she goes off into this rapsodising rant about how she loves every single thing about cigarettes and smoking...and ends up making everyone listening to her dive for the cigarettes.

LabRat

When I was younger my dad smoked quite a lot, and after spending enough time smelling that there is no way I am going to start smoking.

Which is probably what a lot of people said when they were 16, but I'm serious. I choke each time I come close to cigarette smoke.

Unfortunately, some of my classmates have been smoking since about grade 8, and the number increases every year. When I come out of the school 15-20 minutes after the bell, there are usually about 15 people smoking in front of it. Even marijuana is not uncommon anymore, I know people who are invloved with even worse drug use (though obviously not in front of the school).

Luckily I chose my friends wisely, or maybe just lucked out, so the few of them who smoke (and are 18-20, not 16) don't put pressure on me.

Julie

No. I never have, and I never will. This is something I've promised to myself since I was a little kid. I grew up between my father's Biology books which talked about how smoking kills. I try to keep my friends away from smoking or drive them away from it (and I've sometimes become annoying in the process). Generally, I'm in the DO NOT SMOKE!! campaign and make it clear to everyone. (I say, I make it clear. I don't sit on their throats until they throw their cigarettes away. I'm not THAT annoying.) I sometimes get to be between smokers, but smoke soon makes my eyes red and teary and I then try to excuse myself and leave the smoking area.

True, I'm not much of a rebel teenager. I've never even skipped a class in my life ("extended" school council meetings don't count ) But I'm just the way I like me to be. Smoking could quickly take me between the "trendy" people of my school, but I do have friends one way or another, and I'm happy I don't smoke.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Nope; never smoked, never wanted to.

As a kid, if I was in the same room as a smoker, the smoke would make me cough. I hated it. My parents didn't smoke - though I found out years later that my mother had when she was younger - but lots of relatives did. Growing up in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s, smoking was acceptable everywhere: on the buses, in cinemas, in shops and restaurants and even classrooms in university. What's fascinating is that Ireland is now (I believe) the first country in Europe to have banned smoking in all public places. Even pubs! And it's a great place to visit now - so clean and fresh everywhere.

And, yes, Yvonne, I do agree that it's declining as a habit - statistics confirm that, too. What is worrying is that the incidence of smoking in less-well-developed countries is still high and, among young girls mostly, it seems, increasing.


Wendy

Edited to add: Other than Elena, who doesn't really count, I've only met one FoLC who smokes.

Nope. Never have, never will. Of course, being allergic to cigarette smoke (among other things) would prevent it anyway. Also, my mom died from cancer -- not lung cancer, but I still wouldn't take the risk.

I´m a passive smoker... unfortunately..

I am allergic to cigarettes, but my mom smokes 3 packs a day. The house is infested by the smoke and i often have problems to sleep.

She doesnt care though. I guess she´s so addicted that if i ask her to choose, me or the cigarette, she would choose it. No scratch that... she would choose it for sure.

Oh well.. I hope i can move out before i can have a lung cancer.

MDL. cough cough

I voted "no, never have", even though technically, I'm somewhere between that and "but I used to".

I experiemented a little bit in high school, not because I was ever pressured so much as I was curious. I was a good kid, but like many, I got a thrill out of the occasional act of rebellion, no matter how small it might be. So when my fast-compared-to-me 14 year old best friend would sneak cigarettes, we'd go out for a walk to the park and smoke one and feel oh-so-cool. <g> But we're talking a handful of cigarettes over the course of a year or two. I gave it up when I gave her up -- by age 16, she was doing things that I was decidedly uncomfortable with (stealing, cheating) and I ended the friendship. That was the end of that.

In college, I became a "social smoker" for a while. Again, no pressure from anyone, it just seemed a fitting past-time when you were out drinking and dancing. I never bought them myself -- I'd just accept them from friends if they were offered. If I was with smokers, I'd do it, too ... if not, I wouldn't. That activity ended when my boyfriend (now my husband) started grad school at my university and we moved in together. I stopped socializing with that particular crowd, and since I never wanted to be a *smoker*, I just stopped doing it.

I do find it interesting, though ... getting a faint wiff of someone else's smoke (say at an outdoor event) doesn't really bother me that much, but I absolutely *hate* the smell of it in my clothing and hair afterwards. I've always said I could never really be a smoker for that reason -- it just turns my stomach! And having someone sit down next to me with that smell on them is a nightmare.

Interesting poll, Y!

Kathy

I don't smoke and never have. I hate the stench; I worked as a nanny for a family where the dad smoked. I would come home and all my clothes would reek, as would my hair. They live across the street from us and when their front door is open the scent wafts across the street. Their little girl, who was then 3 or 4, had asthma. Every morning I had to administer three shots of two different types of inhalers into her mouth, and despite that, she would cough like crazy. Sometimes when their windows are open I can hear the dad (the smoker) coughing. Makes me sick just thinking about it.

My grandpa smoked; he picked up the habit when he was in the army circa WW2. One of my earliest memories of him was of him carrying his inhaler around with him in shirt pocket. By then he had quit, but years of smoking had already done their job. He died two days before I turned four... heart attack.

Sufficed it to say, nobody in my family ever took it up after seeing what he went through.

If you want to quit, and plan to quit, what are you waiting for?

Hmmm I think I kind of sounded like Lois in The Phoenix, just then. But seriously. Why not? Your body will thank you and it makes for one less thing you have to do down the road...

Okay, I feel I need to clarify...no...correct this, if only to make myself feel better. I was making short of my reply (even though it ended up being pretty long anyway ).

The first time I tried a cigarette, I was 16 or 17. My friend and I were always avid non-smokers, but we were curious. We also wanted to be able to one-up those people that said "don't knock it til you try it" when we'd say it was disgusting. I didn't like it then. It wasn't until I was 19 or 20 (don't recall exactly) that I started smoking. I found out my best friend (different friend )had been smoking when she was hanging out with her other friends. It upset me quite a bit and I asked her to quit. We used to go for long drives and just talk the night away or sing along to the radio. So one night, shortly after I'd asked her to quit, we were going for one of our drives and she told me that she was going to quit. The half of a pack she had left would be her last. If you ask me why I said it, I still couldn't tell you, maybe I was curious again or thought it looked cool...I don't know. But I said, "Good! I'll help you smoke it." Maybe I wanted to help her get rid of it faster or something. I could just puff on it and not really inhale. Well she ended up "teaching" me how to actually smoke the cigarette (there's apparently a technique or two ) and I found that the cigarette (well, the nicotine, really) relaxed me and even gave me a little buzz, a light-headed feeling. My friend never did quit smoking and what's worse is, I started. Though, we would only smoke on our drives. It was our time together and our little thing.

Then my parents got divorced.

I didn't handle it well at all (in fact, I don't think I'll ever be as close to my mom again because of it ). With the divorce, the stress of school and some other emotional problems, I ended up dropping out of college (well, technically I "took a semester off"...and I'm finally back 3 years later ). Everything all together was kind of overwhelming and there was this little side habit I had of smoking. Well, the smoking ended up helping me a little. It took the edge off the stress and other 'traumas'.

Now, I'm much better emotionally, but I'm hooked. As much as I'm disappointed in myself for being a smoker, I'm just not ready to quit yet. But I will someday.

LOL El! I'll look forward to it!

Sara (who really didn't mean to get that emotional...or tell everyone more than they probably wanted to know about her life )

Yes, very interesting reading this one. And, you know, I kind of quite like that one. But then it's more woodsmokey than cigarette, I guess. Still...

LabRat

I'm among those who have never had even the slightest desire to smoke, drink, or take recreational drugs. Yeah, I was a boring kid. My idea of rebellion was to tell my parents I was going to see one movie when I really wanted to go see "The Empire Strikes Back" for the fifth time.

As for smoke, I react very badly to it. One sniff of an unfiltered cigarette and I'll get a sinus infection that lasts for a week followed by a month of bad coughing. I've always had very bad sinuses, suffering from chronic rhinitis, so getting near smoke is usually a very bad idea for me.

Funny that Las Vegas is one of my favorite places to vacation. The place is filled with smoke and I always come back with a suitcase full of smoky clothing.

Sara, thanks for the honest and revealing insight into why someone might start to smoke.

Oh, and my friend's Dad, who was both a smoker and overweight, died of a heart attack in his early 50s. It's no surprise, I imagine, that she's a pretty vigorous opponent of smoking - much more so than me.

Isn't it telling, by the way, how many people here know someone who's died of a smoking-related disease?


Yvonne

I don't smoke, and I never have. I tried a cigarette when I was about 7-ish. My mom had fallen asleep on the couch, a cigarette still lit in the ashtray, so I thought I'd try it. I haven't touched one since. I even refused to buy them for my family once I got old enough.

Both of my parents smoke, my brother and his wife smoke, and three of my four grandparents smoked. The other one chewed. I grew up around smoke, so it doesn't bother me as long as it doesn't get directly in my face, or there's a lot of smokers in a closed-in area. I was in a mobile home with 3 smokers once, one being my mom, and I had to leave after about a half hour because the smoke got to be too much, and made my eyes hurt and water. When they visit me, they go outside to smoke, even though I've never actually asked them.

I've had mixed reactions with pregnant women and smoking. I live 20 minutes from my in-laws (mother, brother, and his wife), and 10 hours from my mom, brother, and his wife. Both wives were pregnant at the same time. The whole family was after my husband's brother's wife to stop smoking during his wife's pregnancy. When I went up to visit my family for Christmas, I saw my brother's wife light up. Being in the habit of reprimanding, I made a comment to her. My mom turned to me and told me not to say anything, since it wasn't my baby. So I didn't say anything about it the rest of the stay. Her reasoning was that since she smoked all during her pregnancies with me and my brother, and we turned out fine (physically.. I don't put too much store into my brother's mental state ), I didn't have a whole lot of room to talk.

Sorry to hear that Karen, that would have bothered me a lot. I've heard (though it might have been just friends and me theorizing) that whether or not smoking is harmful to your unborn child is gentetic. If your mom got away with it, theoretically, you could. I've talked to women (like Karen's mom apparently ) who said they'd smoked throughout all their pregnancies and never even had one problem - not even premature birth, which I hear is one of the more common side effects along with low birth weight. I wouldn't want to tempt fate, not when SIDS is looming out there as a possible reaction. And besides, I already said I didn't want to smoke around my children...gives me the perfect excuse to quit! After 9 months without a cigarette, think how easy it'll be to *not* ever pick one up again.

Sara (who's wondering if she should start a little piggy bank here, considering she's put in *way* more than two cents )

Even though I don't smoke, I feel like I do becuase it seems as if everyone on my college campus does and I'm always breathing in the stuff. I absolutely hate it and I will that it would get banned on my campus.

Melisa

Well, the results confirm my suspicions, but I'm still amazed that we're skewed so heavily towards non-smokers. A whopping 85% have never smoked, and 92% don't smoke now? Wow!

I guess this might say something about the sort of person who's a fan of L&C, but I'm not going to analyse that any further, or I'll no doubt get into all kinds of hot water.

Yvonne

Interesting poll, Yvonne!

My whole family smoked! Dad, mum, three brothers and sister. I did from the age of 16 for a couple of years. Even though I grew up surrounded by smoke I hate it. The smell makes me sick and affects my asthma. I’m not sure if it was related to smoking, but my dad and one of my brothers died from heart disease. Both quite young - my dad 41, my brother 32.

Unfortunately it appears that girls around 16/17 are still starting to smoke. Girls especially dancers and singers think that they need to smoke. They believe that if you smoke and drink lots of coke/coffee you will keep your weight down. Agents don’t employ overweight dancers and singers!

Tricia

And do you know that second hand smoking can cause Lung cancer as if you smoked it yourself.

I hate to be gross but I hate cigrette smell too. They form boogers in my nose and irritates me so much until I can get to the washroom and clean my nose out. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They should make smoking booths for smokers that keep the cirgreet smokes inside. Non-Smokers wont have to worry about the reprocussion of a smoker's smoke.

Non-smoker. Never smoked, can't imagine I ever will. Considering my respiratory distress around second-hand smoke (and discomfort around the smell -- the first half-hour of my recent airplane flight was pretty unpleasant, until my seat-mate's reek wore off (or I acclimated?)), I'd have to be nuts. When my allergies are in high gear, the smoke makes me cough and wheeze; when my allergies haven't been triggered lately, it's more of a mild irritant.

If you have smoked recently and are sharing an elevator with me, I will know. (I will also know if you doused yourself with perfume or cologne, but that's another story. ) I was thrilled when airlines stopped allowing smoking (sadly, the smoke does not STAY in the smoking section); and even more happy when California law changed to disallow smoking in restaurants.

I'm not a smoker.. hate the smell. All the same, if I have time before starting work in the morning, I'll go sit in the smoking room with the others, because it's too lonely sitting in the main part of the staff room. But that's about it.

This poll does remind me of some friends of my mom's -- they have a small yacht named the 'Six Pack', which they use to get to their small holiday home. Whenever people ask why they named it that, they say 'We used to smoke 6 packs between us, so we quit and saved the money, which we used to buy this yacht'

I have never smoked but I have always been around smokers. Now I have COPD from second hand smoke. THe bad thing here is if I'm in a room with a smoker for at least an hour I'll get pneumonia. So I try to stay far away from smokers. I hate the smell.

I voted No, but I used to. My growing up and young adult years occurred before scientists announced that smoking is harmful. At that time most kids just assumed that they would smoke because it was something almost all adults did unless it was against their religion. My parents did not smoke for that reason, although my mother would occasionally sneak a Kool. I smoked cigarettes, tiparillos (small cigars) and even a pipe when it was temporarilyfashinable. I ignored the fact that smoking aggravated my allergies. My husband and I quit cold turkey when our son (now 42) was born. We threw away our ashtrays and our house became a smoke-free zone. We've never regretted it and have had few cravings. I have to admit that I occasionally feel an urge to taste one of those tiparillos again, but it's only a passing fancy, and I never succumb. Now I can't stand to be around smoking and avoid smokers everywhere.

Jude

I have never, ever had the desire to smoke. Fortunately, my parents didn't smoke, so I didn't grow up around it. (My mom would throw up just riding in her grandfather's car, because of the residual smoke in the cushions and my grandmother on my dad's side caught his younger brother smoking a cigar with a friend when they were 8, so forced them to finish it and when they did, they both got really sick, which prevented my dad from ever wanting to try.)

I used to say I was 'allergic' to cigarette smoke, until some oh-so-helpful person (not!) informed me (rather sanctimoniously, I might add) that it is not possible to be allergic to cigarette smoke, that such-and-such has to happen for it to be classified as an allergic reaction. I maintain, however, that I am allergic -- if I'm around cigarette smoke, I get a headache almost immediately, and if I'm around it very long, I get sick.

Oh, and I wanted to reply to what LabRat said about getting used to Stuart coming home smokey -- smoke from fires is *entirely* different from cigarette smoke. I should know, I come from a family of pyromaniacs. <g> (Don't worry, Lab, we do it safely.) We have a fire in the fireplace from about October through May, we have candles all year round, and my brother juggles torches. None of those kinds of smoke bother me in the least.

Bethy

I earlier said:

And that's 100% true.

Funnily enough, though, my favourite Greek song is "To tsigaro", which means... "The cigarette".

Just thought I'd share,
AnnaBtG.

I don't smoke, never have, never even tried one. I was never even tempted to, which was fortunate, as I was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 28. On the other hand, I would never harrass a smoker about his/her habit. My mother-in-law apparently had an occasional cigarette when her husband was alive, but after his death took up the habit in earnest. She was a wonderful person, who showed me without even trying that, contrary to the stereotypic mother-in-law, it is possible to be popular with your son- or daughter-in-law simply by staying out of your adult children's business. I would never have insulted her by complaining about her habit. She died at the age of 83 from thymus cancer, which was almost certainly a result of her smoking.

Two of my children, for reasons entirely unrelated, took up smoking for a time. My oldest son picked it up from his girlfriend. Fortunately, a later girlfriend gave him an ultimatum -- it was her or the cigarettes. He chose her. My military daughter took it up because most of the other Marines in her unit smoked, but after she married (a non-smoker) she quit, fortunately.

I regard smoking as a bad habit and would never take it up, but I also know that once it is established, it is very, very hard to quit. Anyway, I figure an adult has a right to decide for him/herself whether or not to take the risk. Anyone who reads the newspaper, listens to radio or watches TV knows that it isn't good for him. My friends and acquaintances don't need me to inform them of the fact, and I prefer their friendship to making myself unpopular with them by rubbing it in.

Nan