Hanrahan, when it comes to smoking it sounds as though you are one of the lucky ones.
One of my uncles had his esophagus removed due to cancer from smoking but still died a horrible death before he turned 50. Another one of my uncles set his bed on fire smoking at night and was burned to death. One of my wife's brothers who went to school with me developed mouth cancer from smoking, it progressed through his face and the roof of his mouth before he also died a horrible death. Even my mother died from smoking related lung disease.
But those stories aren't unique to my family or even among the worst that I know about.
When I was but a lad we used to watch the Marlboro man suck on a fag while riding a white horse. He died from smoking related lung disease. All the heroes in the old movies smoked like chimneys. But many of them died from smoking related cancers and that included my favourite, Humphrey Bogart at age 57!
We should be doing whatever it takes to reduce smoking. Its tragic that the issue has become a political football.
