People who smoke and don't care what they are doing to their bodies, seem to have this attitude that why should you care? It's my body I can do what I want to it.
Yes. Yes you can.
Or, they have the attitude of, "I'm respectful, I don't smoke around other people."
That's nice. And those of us who don't smoke appreciate that.
But they don't stop and think of the long term consequences. No. They don't. They really don't. They say they do. They say... well, if I get lung cancer or emphysema it's my problem and no one else's.
Is it? Is it really?
Let me tell a story about my grandfather. My grandpa smoked just about his whole life. He smoked back before anyone knew smoking was bad for your body. He smoked because it was the cool thing to do. And then, once we started to learn that smoking was bad for you and started to get after him about it, he did not stop.
A few years later, he was diagnosed with emphysema. Now, for those of you who think lung cancer is the worst thing you can get from smoking, you are wrong. And I'll explain why, after I explain about what happened to my grandpa after he learned he had emphysema.
He kept smoking.
Only, he kept it secret from everyone. No one knew he was smoking behind everyone's back until one day, my grandma caught him in the garage, almost a year later. I don't know for how much longer he was secretly smoking for, but by that time, it was far far too late.
Emphysema is a disease in which a person can breath in just fine, but can't exhale properly. In essence, grandpa could not breath. He coughed all the time and made numerous other honestly disgusting sounds. Eventually, he weakened until he could not walk or be home alone for very long. Do you know who that affected? My grandma. My grandma's retirement dreams were destroyed, because she had to stay home and take care of grandpa.
And for some unexplainable reason, grandpa's sense of smell sky rocketed as his emphysema progressed, so grandma couldn't ever clean the house properly. She couldn't wear perfume. She couldn't wash her hair with strongly scented shampoo. Everything she used had to be unscented. And that went for anyone who frequently visited their house. Grandma also couldn't cook or bake anything, because it smelled to strongly.
Eventually, grandpa had to go on oxygen. He couldn't walk further than a few steps without having to take a break for 20 min to breath. He couldn't drive. Eventually, they couldn't go to my brother's races anymore, a rare and joyous event in both their lives.
So... if grandpa ever thought that his smoking was only his problem, he was wrong. Once his health started to deteriorate, their retirement money went solely into his health expenses. Grandma was house ridden, just to take care of him, even though she was perfectly healthy. Grandma couldn't do anything she loved anymore. She couldn't bake, one of her favorite things to do. She had to put up with his constant coughing, constant clearing of his throat, spitting and gagging and gurgling. I never spent more than 4 or 5 hours over there at a time, though I visited every day for many years, but I would cringe every time I had to listen to that. It was gross, and it was annoying, and I know he couldn't help it, but it was hard to listen to, even so. I can not imagine what it would be like to live with that, day in and day out.
So, for smokers out there, who think that their smoking habit is no one else's problem, think again, down the road, when you get a serious disease from your habit. Think about who has to take care of you. Think about who's money is being spent to help cover your health expenses. Think about who you are denying rights to go out and do what they want, besides yourself. Think about who you are hurting, besides yourself.
I loved and miss my grandfather, who died 2 years ago peacefully in his sleep, with my Dad and my grandma in the next room, taking care of him during his last moments. I helped him with his coin collection for a few summers when he knew that he didn't have the energy to do it himself. He knew he had to sell the coins before he was gone and they were left to someone who didn't understand the value of the collection. He was a good person, and my grandma loved him very much. No one is holding any grudges for something that got so out of control.
But for people who KNOW the consequences, but don't care, please think of your family who will bear the brunt down the road, when you can no longer take care of yourself. Please consider it. I just want to show you the other side of this coin. And it's not pleasant.
Are smokers aware of the long term consequences? Do you think they're selfish to not think about the long term impact on the family?
Comments (79)
@randaness@xanga - I read your comment just now. Guess the other reply I just posted applies also to yours. I don't pretty much believe in second hand smoking, unless you smoke "in the face of...", altough of course the effects of a life-long exposition are harder to quantify. Smokers, if I remember correctly, live in average around 11 years less then non-smokers, it would be nice to have a similar stat for 2n hand smkrs. Anyways, I agree with you on the fact that hurting yourself affects people around you, altough I tend to charge the person, not the addiction.
I don't think this is fair to say. If you want to put this in a big category, you're saying that anyone who does something they enjoy, that has potential consequences in the future, needs to worry about the "harm" they're doing to their family, and is considered selfish if they don't stop the aforesaid activity. Let me tell you a story that is basically the same, but completely excludes smoking.
My mother was a body builder in England for a long time. She actually won a couple of competitions, and her main goal was to place number one in North Britain's Women Body Building Competition. If she won this, it would be considered a great honor in her little subculture. Unfortunately, after a couple years of daily intense physical workouts, her knees decided they were just going to give out on her. Her left knee cap was rubbing into her femur, and over the years it just got to be too much for her legs to handle, and she needed surgery to fix it. My grandparents had been putting away money since they've been working to pay for their retirement come the day when they can stop working. My grandparents had to pay over 10,000 pounds (give or take 25,000 dollars) for my mother to get a partial knee replacement, plus a walker, plus follow up visits, plus intense physical therapy. My grandparents' retirement fund dwindled drastically, and they had to take care of my mother for a good three months after her surgery.
I tell this story because I want to ask you what's so different between the two circumstances? My mother became a burden on my grandparents, ruined their retirement fund, and wrecked her ability to properly work out like she used to because of body building. Was that selfish for her also? Or, because it wasn't smoking, it was just a horrible, unpredicted consequence? Mind you, not everyone who smokes dies from smoke-related problems. Why, I believe the oldest living woman (can't remember if she's still alive or not), age 120, had been smoking for 90 years and there was nothing wrong with her heart or lungs.
If you want to examine human beings under a microscope, everything we do burdens another in some way. Everything we do is a selfish act. Ultimately, life is a big game of how happy I can possibly make myself be. Actions have consequences. yes. But, to narrow it down to smokers and call them selfish is unnecessary. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, so please reply. :)
@SwearNoAllegiance@xanga - how the fuck is that rubbish? this shit happens all the time.
@Longyoulive_highyoufly@xanga - so you smoke to rebel against adds. so lets just from now on say everybody who smokes is immature. and when they try to lecture some 14 year old from not doing their homework. they might think what the fuck their doing to themselves. just to rebel against a fuckin TV.