Stop smoking, please!

Emily is asking adults to stop smoking in front of the kids to keep them safe. Perhaps after you read the Smoking Poem below, you might try or try again, if you’ve tried to stop smoking before. I know it’s difficult. I used to smoke, but quit over 40 years ago. My dad died from smoking 10 days before our son was born. Do you want to miss out on the pleasures life brings us?

Would you stop smoking for Emily if she were your daughter, granddaughter, niece?

Would you stop smoking for Emily who represents all the children who come in contact with secondhand cigarette smoke?

Even if a cigarette is not smoked in front of a child, the smoke is on the smoker’s clothes, skin, hair, everything inside their car and home, and always seems to follow wherever they go. It isn’t pleasant, to say the least, for children to be exposed.

Smoking – a difficult addiction to quit.

Cigarette smoking is an addiction that is difficult to stop. We all know that.

My father, a many-packs-a-day smoker, couldn’t quit. Actually, he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t quit after a collapsed lung, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and constant coughing.  This is now known as COPD.

We pleaded with him, but to no avail.   He died in his sleep in 1982, just 10 days before his only grandson was born. His heart stopped – it was weak from the lack of oxygen. He cheated his grandchildren out of enjoying a special relationship with their grandfather and with two daughters who lost their mother to cancer in 1967. My father was 65. His heart was worn out.

I started smoking in college and continued for 4 years…until my now husband told me he wouldn’t marry me unless I did…and I did. I hate to think how my life would have been if I didn’t. I am 65. I have asthma.

My Aunt Ruth, a chain smoker, quit cold turkey when she learned she had breast cancer. She was in her 40’s when she quit smoking. She lived 10 years longer than my father. She was 75. She died of a stroke.

Would a Free Trip to Disney World Get You to Stop Smoking?

So…what would be your incentive to quit smoking? Would it be…

  • a loving child’s sincere request
  • knowing you could prevent a child from becoming ill from the effects of secondhand smoke
  • a free, 5-day trip to Disney World during Christmas Week with your children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews to create lasting memories
  • or…

What would make it happen for you?

Help End Smoking, One Smoker at a Time

Help Emily end smoking. It’s impossible to help every smoker, but it can be possible to help at least one smoker close to you and your children.

Four ways to persuade a smoker to quit:

  • Let them know how much they mean to you.
  • Share with them how important it is for them to be a part of your lasting memories.
  • Tell them you can’t imagine life without them.
  • Explain to them how important their relationship is to helping the children feel love and support.

Three questions to ask a smoker:

  • How they would feel if they couldn’t see the children again because they continued to smoke?
  • What would it mean to them if they can’t enjoy making special memories with the children?
  • How would it feel if they were the cause of a child’s lung cancer or other related illness!

Make it real – Which lung photos and x-rays do you think are yours?

And, if that doesn’t help your special person quit smoking, they just might need to be frightened into finding a visual reason to quit! Show them this photo and 6 pages more of normal and diseased lungs.

normallungs

How many memories are you willing to miss together?

Smoking Poem

I’ve borrowed this poem from QuitSmokingSupport.com, which is written from the point of view of a smoker’s child. The child, never a smoker, has lung cancer caused by her father’s secondhand smoke. She asks her father why…

Death of Innocence – A Poem,

I lie in here, beside the whitewashed wall,
My hair is gone, my head is bald,
The room is sterile and it’s very cold,
Wish you were here, Dad, I need someone to hold.

I can’t breathe, I’m on a machine,
It goes whirrr and click, it’s such a din,
I’ve got lung cancer, it’s all black inside,
When Mom says smoking causes cancer, Dad, I think she lied.

I never lit up, even when you did,
I just sat next to you, a small little kid,
You huffed and puffed through your life, Dad,
And Mom always looked so very sad.

My friends asked me to smoke, but I never did,
Because Mom told me from young: smoking is stupid,
It soots up your lungs and blackens your teeth,
So when I see a smoker, Dad, I anger and seethe. 

You smoked two packs a day but you’re still healthy and strong,
I hate smokers, Dad, but I never thought you wrong,
I love you, Dad, I always sat next to you,
And I know that you always loved me too.

The room here is cold, I see you through the glass,
And I think back to long ago, Dad, of times past,
Of the memories, I recall as much as I can,
There’s always been a cigarette, Dad, stuck inside your hand.

I remember the fun things, Dad, all the times we had,
But as I look at you from here, you look so very sad,
You’re not smoking, Dad, no cigarette I can see on you,
Maybe it’s just the hospital, and this is the ICU.

My breathing becomes labored, I don’t think I’ll live,
Well, I tried my best, I gave all I had to give,
But one thing, Dad, I cannot comprehend,
I’m not a smoker, so why is my life about to end? 

Author Unknown

Share and Help Emily with Her Request

HELP EMILY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO QUIT SMOKING AND SAVE THE CHILDREN FROM LUNG CANCER! SHARE THIS POST IN EVERY WAY YOU CAN!  (Emily has a special someone who smokes – she hopes that person finds a reason here and stops smoking, too!)

Emily is my granddaughter and I can’t imagine ignoring her plea to stop smoking. I’m glad I quit smoking when I did or I probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy a family Disney World trip, summer beach days, our summer vacation weeks, family get-togethers, or even sleepovers with the grandchildren.

Thank you! We wish you each a long, healthy and happy life.

Emily and Nana