Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Stand Against: Tobacco

Father smoked for most of his life; Pall Mall were his cigarette of choice and Amphora tobacco for his pipe.  I hated his smoking and even as a child I did everything I could to end his noxious emissions.  I took to shredding the bottom of my tennis shoes for years and mixing it with his tobacco in hopes he would stop with the pipe.  To no avail.

Father's death was from pneumonia caused by one lung being closed by a tumor, trapping liquid inside.  But, ER figured he would have been dead within a week from the lung cancer no matter what.

Given odds, father should have lived until he was  almost 100, the age of his father when he died.  But, he barely make it into his 80's.  Could tobacco be credited with reducing his life by 20 years?  No one can really say and I do hold that God is in charge of when you are going to die anyway.  Could be lung cancer or a speeding car with you in the crosswalk, when your time is up - it is up.

So, if I am willing to allow that his death was unavoidable, his health was not.

Heart Attacks minor - 11
Heart Attacks major - 2
Stroke minor - 8
Stroke major - 3
Loss of Teeth - all but 4
Cancer Operations - 2

Yeah, smoking is so cool as to cause all of the above in a family with NO history of any of this.

Something to think about as you light up.....

Yeah, yeah, I know, you are the exception.

No comments: