Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Isn't smoking sexy?

I just read the most recent post on Brad's Brain and found out that like Peter Jennings, Keith Olbermann who recently had a benign tumor removed from his mouth. Unlike Jennings' who had lung cancer, Olbermann has been diagnosed with mouth cancer.

Olbermann has become pro-active about the lethal dangers of tobacco & now has a segment on his show called, "I Quit". He gives smokers resources for quitting, 1 is "Don't Quit Alone" which gives links to resources, tips & advice from counselors, a quitting plan & 24/7 chat & much, much more.
Keith has another site which I find the coolest, if you're an ex-smoker, you can send in your story about how you quit. If you'd like to read success stories, then check out I Quit! with Keith Olbermann. You can email your own "I Quit!" story to Countdown@MSNBC.com. My personal story about quitting after 30 years of smoking, is detailed on my 8/9/5 blog. I tried to link it from archives, but I'm not that blog savvy yet.


Some tobacco caused diseases:

Buerger's Disease.
Hairy Tongue ~ No, not the band. (see photo above)
COPD
Emphysema ~ They say if you breath continually through a straw you'll know what it's like to have emphysema. I tried it for a few minutes & hypervenilated. I can't imagine a worse way to die.
Peridontal Disease
Heart Disease
Larynx Cancer

(To see some pictures of what these diseases look like, do a google search. First select: IMAGE. Then, for example, enter: hairy tongue )

If you're a parent & don't quit, expect your kids to become smokers. I actually believed that because at first I didn't smoke around my kids & then because I smoked outside, mine wouldn't start smoking. I was wrong! While I'm now a non-smoker, I'm also now the parent of 2 beautiful young adults who are smokers.

If you smoke, please QUIT. It's not sexy. There's nothing cool about it. Smoking stinks & makes your clothes smell. It makes your teeth yellow. You already know all this. There will always be an excuse NOT to quit. But look at all the reasons you have TO quit. It will never get any easier.

PLEASE QUIT SMOKING




Technorati tags: peter jennings, keith olbermann, oral cancer, msnbc, lung cancer, smoking, disease, buergers disease, hairy tongue, copd, emphysema, Peridontal Disease, heart disease, larynx cancer

posted by jane at 2:15 PM