No wonder my mom got hooked.

June 1, 2000 8:24 AM

No wonder my mom got hooked. My mother turns 70 years old on the 26th of this month. She's smoked since college. It's the only thing that I really bug her about; try to stop. She quit about five years ago for almost a year, then started again. I know she's lonely, living alone, but then when I see ads like the link above, I get a better understanding of the cultural acceptance of smoking that was prevalent when she was in college. I watch her immediately reach for her smokes when she gets out of the car after a ride; is that her body chemistry screaming out for more nicotine? I just know there's a special place in hell for the cigarette executives; a special room where they're forced to watch videos of their own children lighting up for the first time.
posted by marktucker (5 comments total)

"is that her body chemistry screaming out for more nicotine?"

That's exactly it. Me? I chain smoke. I didn't start till I was 24, swore I'd quit with every price hike. Here I am, lighting another one, as I type this. And it's not like I don't have any will power: I used to do coke by the 8 ball (where my friends wondered if this was the day my chest would explode)...and one say I said "Enough" and just quit. There were lots of things I did, got addicted, and then just stopped.

Nicotine is a different story. I can't tell young people not to smoke, but I sure as hell can look them in the eyes and say "I wish I never started". No amount of pestering, nagging or even concern can make a smoker quit...sometimes even if they want to quit.

Just hope your mom is in perfect health, dude. :0)
posted by EricBrooksDotCom at 9:23 AM on June 1, 2000

My mom had a four pack a day habit the year she died.

Someday, ahmina lose it and go door to door in Winston Salem, looking for Tobacco Executives.
posted by Ezrael at 9:32 AM on June 1, 2000

Okay, that was wrong of me to say. I will not go door to door in Winston Salem. I'll simply look into the stock records of the companies in question. Much easier.
posted by Ezrael at 9:33 AM on June 1, 2000

I started in college cuz everyone around me was smoking and it curbed the stress of being a freshman. Why do I keep smoking? I think I harbour a secret deathwish. My point is, it wasn't advertising. Maybe in the 40s and 50s it was, but you can't blame adverising today.

As far back as I can remember, there have been Surgeon General Warnings on cigarettes. It's not like they've been hiding the potential dangers. You sure won't see a Surgeon General Warning on a bag of coke.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:22 PM on June 1, 2000

My mom smoked from around 1978 until 1995 when she had a heart attack. On that day she threw her cigaettes away and has never fallen off the wagon. On the other hand, her two sisters still smoke even after they saw the hell their sister and father went through with heart attacks as a result of smoking.
posted by owillis at 11:08 PM on June 1, 2000