One of the most difficult words to say in the dictionary is to say the word "NO!"  Say NO to people who will get you in trouble; say NO to people who will use you; say NO to people who will lead you down the wrong road; say NO to people who will take advantage of you; say NO to people who will take you down into the gutter with them; and say NO to smoking...that is...if you care about your health, and the health of those around you! 

No; (definition); to reject; refuse approval; or to express disaproval of;

This piece is not intended to be a lecture to young people not to smoke.  When I started writing seriously in August, 2006, I promised myself that I would not be a preacher or a crusader for anything! 

Therefore, if a young person wants to commit suicide, one puff at a time...go ahead...be my guest!  It's your ruined life...not mine! 

However, for those intelligent people out there who want to quit, maybe one of my articles on quitting smoking will help, and I encourage those who want to quit, to read the piece and to never give up!

Article: Smoking Sucks:  How I Quit Smoking!
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=42888

Doctors tell us, that a few drinks are good for us, as long as we drink responsibly.  (I don't encourage young people to drink at all); I don't have a problem with gambling, as long as it's done responsibly as well.  I don't know if there's anyone in the world, who can give one single benefit of smoking...not one single benefit...there is NOT a single benefit in smoking!

It's especially difficult to say NO to a child.  I helped to raise two kids for nearly 20 years, so I think I know what I'm taling about.  Kids want to be the boss of everything; they want to eat all the candy and ice cream and ruin their teeth; they want every toy in the store; and if they don't get their own way, they scream and and have a fit, etc.  Yes...it's tough to say NO to a child..but you have to!

A child and a young person have to learn to say NO to the things that might hurt them, and to the things that may do damage to their self-esteem and/or confidence, etc.  I write about some of this in another article I wrote entitled;

Article: You Can't Please Everyone...So Don't Try;
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=44687

"Nothing in the world, is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consientious stupidity!"  Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I too...probably started smoking back in high school, because of peer-pressure and because I was a dumb-ass...just like so many other stupid people in the world!  But, at the age of 23...I wised up and proudly quit smoking...and quit for good!   In 2009...that's nearly 40 years without tobacco products!

During the 1960's and the well-known drug culture...I had to make another decision which involved saying NO!  When a few friends of mine, were discharged from the military, most of them went on to college, and got into the drug culture of the times, etc.  I had to decide if I would do the same...OR if I would say NO to drugs...and find new friends!  I decided to find new friends!  And, as of the year 2009, and at the age of 64, I have never taken drugs of any kind, which makes for another of my proudest moments!

Peer-pressure is not just for teen-agers.  The ugly face of peer-pressure, will follow us all to the grave, by those who want us to ge a different direction with our lives, etc.  Case in point:  When I was 60 years old, and my life came apart, as I lost Six jobs due to layoffs, and I found myself homeless and living at the VA Medical Center, to work to try to get back on my feet, etc. 

One day, I was headed for work at seven in the morning, when a fellow-veteran stopped me and asked me, "Jerry, you don't drink or do drugs, right?"  That's right, I told him.  He then asked me if I wanted to make ten dollars, and I asked him how.

We were in the hospital lobby, and he walked near-by into one of the darkened clinics.  I followed him.  He then reached into his pocket, and showed me one of those plastic containers, which are for a urine sample!  Amazingly...he wanted me to give him a urine sample, to pass as his own...so he could get back into the work program! 

The VA Medical Center, is located on federal land, and would be the jurisdiction of the FBI, and a ticket into this job program, would be worth about $10,000 for a year of room and board, etc.  I don't think the FBI would be too happy about this little scheme, if I participated in it!  To get involved in a scheme like this for a measly ten dollars?  I wouldn't do it for $1,000 or more!  I must have had the word "stupid" written on my forehead! 

I didn't say NO to the veteran...I just walked away shaking my head!  This is about as low as a person can get!  This incident by him, ruined our friendship and was an insult to my intelligence!

"If you think education is expensive...try a little ignorance!"  Derek Bok

From: The American Legacy Foundation:
Smoking in Movies Can Create a Long-Term Addiction;  There is a growing body of evidence, showing that exposure to smoking in movies, can cause youth to start smoking, and that the movies can be more powerful than the traditional tobacco ads, etc.  I new study, released in the April, 2009 edition of Pediatrics...stated that smoking in movies, not only triggeres youth to start lighting up, but it can establish a habit for years to come.  

I look back, at some of the old movies and talk shows where there was smoking going on, and I can't believe people intentially ruined their lives...and to think I used to be one of them!

"Education is a progressive discovery of your own ignorance."   Anatole France

My father smoked all his adult life, and he lived to old age and died at the age of 81.  But, he never lived a quality life, because he was always sick of something.  That's because smoking breaks down the body defenses...and illness sets in, etc.  He went to the grave...coughing and choking!  Would you call that a quality life? 

A few years ago, a friend of mine died of smoking, and she was just 38 years old, and left behind a 14 year old and a new husband.  The reader can read about it at the following link.

Article: Sabrina: Another Smoking Casualty;
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=43138

And, I'll repeat to all the young people out there.  I'm not a nanny or a baby-sitter for young people!  They can do fine destroying their lives...they don't need any help from me!  Go ahead...commit suicide...one puff at a time!  There aren't many people nowadays who like smokers anyway...and just think...you can be remembered for polluting the air we all breath!  You can be remembered for SOMETHING! 

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Young people must realize, that there will always be peer-pressure in their lives...regardless of the subject matter as I have shown.  There will always be somebody nearby, trying to ruin your life...so you will have to just say NO...and don't ruin your life...that's IF you care.

You know the old saying; "Misery loves company!"  Set high standards for yourself...good friends are easy to make!

This is a little story I have written about in another article, but it is worthy of repeating.  I went for a job interview one day, and the person doing the interview, asked me the following question; "Jerry...What do you consider one of the best things you have done with your life thus far?"  The answer was easy..."quit smoking" I told her! 

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