"We're all born mad!  Some of us just remain so!"  Samuel Beckett

I quit smoking in 1970, and I'll admit to the reader, that I was insane during the five years I smoked.  (a real jerk!)  At the young age of 23 I quit, much to the dismay of those so-called friends around me, who, through the use of temptation, tried to make me start up again, and go down the toilet with them!  The answer for me, at that time, was to get rid of these jerks, and find new friends, who didn't smoke, etc.

In 2009, and for nearly 40 years, I have not touched tobacco products of any kind, and quitting smoking has been one of the best things I have done for me and those around me, including my pets.  Over the years, I've written five other articles on the dangers of smoking, and the reader can find these pieces in my article portfolio and are entitled; Smoking Sucks! How I Quit Smoking; Sabrina: Another Smoking Casualty; Have You Ever Kissed an Ashtray? (pucker-up); The Number ONE Litter Problem in the World; Smoking and Pets Make For a Toxic Mix. 

insanity: (definition); something expremely foolish; senselessness; unsoundness of mind;

"Insanity is contagious!"  Joseph Heller

The following (copyrighted) article, I thought was important enough on the dangers of smoking, I decided to spread the word.  The article was written by Jim Abrams of the Associated Press and was published in the Albuquerque Journal in June, 2009.  The article is as follows and is entitled;

"FDA Regulation of Tobacco Gets Final Congressional Nod; Obama Has Vowed to Sign Legislation;

WASHINGTON;  No more 'light' cigaretts or candy-flavored smokes.  Bigger, scarier warning labels.  Fewer ads featuring sexy young smokers! 

Historic anti-smoking legislation sped to final congressional passage Friday (6/12/09) after a bitter fight lasting a half a century...and the lawmakers and the White House, quickly declared it would save the lives of thousands of smokers of all ages.  Even more important, they said, the measure could keep countless young people from starting in the first place. 

President Barack Obama, admittedly still struggling with his own nicotine habit, saluted the passage of the bill, which he said he would sign soon. 

He said, 'For over a decade, leaders of both parties have fought to prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children and to provide the public with the information they need to understand what a dangerous this habit is.'

Specifically, the measure for the first time, will give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate what goes into tobacco products, demand changes or eliminate toxic substances and block the introduction of new products. 

Will it matter much to supporter groups?  Smokers lighting up outside Washington offices, had mixed reactions.  Government researcher, Rignald Little, 47, said regulation is needed "because you don't know what exactly is in it.' 

But, Becky Cook, 22, a program analyst, said that, while she supports limits on ads aimed at children, I already know it's bad for me, so I don't think knowing how much is in one cigarette is really going to make a difference.'

And, non-smokers?

Yan Meek, 42, a financial analyst from Jacksonville, Fla., who was visiting the nation's capital with her 8 year old son, Jesse.  She doesn't smoke, and suggested the legislation would lead to 'too much government control over personal lives...personal choices.'

Lionel Richardson, 26, an electrical engineer, visiting from Hugar, S.C., is a non-smoker, too, but called the legislation a good thing.  'It's a drug,' he said, and the 'FDA plays a big part in what drugs are sold.'" 

END OF ARTICLE;

(My Two-Cents/opinion) 
Look who's calling the kettle black?  If President Obama would quit smoking, he could set an example for young and old alike all across the country! 

 It took 50 years for this legislation? 

That just shows the worthlessness of the Congress!  Everyone knows the principle in the Congress..."You scratch my back...and I'll scratch yours." 

It's always the American people who get it in the "arce" as they say in Ireland! 

"I became insane...with big intervals of horrible sanity!"  Edgar Allan Poe

When I started writing seriously in August, 2006, I promised myself I would not be a preacher or a crusader for anything, etc.  If a person wants to smoke, that's their right.  If a smoker wants to commit suicide...one puff at a time...that's okay, too!  I sure don't give a damn!  I don't think anyone else gives a damn, either! 

If they could talk...I don't think Fido and Felix would give a damn, either...as smokers affect pets as well, etc.  Pets get cancer, too...and sadly, they don't have any say-so in the matter over these selfish smokers! 

NOTE:  (self-destruction/Nat 'King' Cole/father of Natalie Cole)

Truly...a sad, sad story...

Nat King Cole:  While I was writing this piece, I was listening to an oldies rock and roll station, when a song came on by Nat 'King' Cole.  In 1957, I was twelve years old, and my family had just gotten its first television set, and I remember seeing the Nat 'King' Cole show.  He was the first Black entertainer to host a television show.

Nat 'King' Cole was up there with all the biggies in the music business at the time...Elvis; Frank Sinatra; Ella Fitzgerald; Patti Paige; Johnny Mathis; Barbara Strisand; Tony Bennett; Perry Como; Doris Day; Bing Crosby, etc.  He had a great future ahead of him!  I didn't know much about him, so I went out on the Internet to do a little research and here's what I found.

Sadly...Nat (King) Cole, smoked three packs of cigarettes a day, which was disturbing in itself, and before every recording session, he would (chain-smoke) several cigarettes, because he thought...by doing so, it would lower his voice! 

Nat King Cole died of lung cancer at the young age of 45, and I think this is an incredible story of self-destruction and (temporary) insanity, in my view! 

Another sad story...

Walt Disney:  He was a chain-smoker and died at the young age of 65 of lung cancer because of smoking.  The tumor in his left lung was so big, that doctors had to remove the entire left lung and gave him only a year or less to live after the surgery. 

Will the stories of these two famous people help people to quit smoking? 

 Of course not! 

Smokers who have crossed my path...have an attitude...an attitude of "it can't happen to me," as they go on and enjoy their little "fix!"  My father coughed and choked his way to the grave until the age of 81 years old.  He never had a quality life because of his smoking...he was always sick of something! 

For nearly 40 years, I've heard the same, tired old broken record from smokers of how they can't quit smoking...the excuse-makers of the world for sure!  

What about my own family members who smoke? 

They made their bed...they can sleep in it!  They're all grown up now...so I'm not their baby-sitter!

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