addiction
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines addiction as:compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful
people aren't addicted to cigarettes, it's the nicotine. when cigarettes first came out, no one knew they would cause lung cancer and other problems. but the companies knew that nicotine would be addictive, so they put a lot in to get buyers hooked. they used their employees as walking billboards by getting them to smoke on the job. the cigarettes got higher and higher percentages of nicotine as people started to realize how bad they were and tried to quit.
at least that's the background information for the story line in John Grisham's The Runaway Jury. and just the thought that cigarette companies would continue to sell harmful substances after they were proved to be a main factor in health problems. and target younger and younger crowds just to sell a product. it makes me sick
my grandma has lung cancer. technically it was caused by a mole which could be blamed on the sun. but she smoked for 30 years thinking cigarettes were not a problem. and you can't say that they weren't a factor in her many health problems. it's not like her cancer is a new thing. she has been up and down in health for i don't know how long. but now it seems to be getting worse. for a while she was in treatment for the spreading cancer. but then the medication was making her go blind. so they took her off that and tried something new. and now the drugs have weakened her system to the point where she can't take them anymore. and the cancer is attacking the weak spots. she's 80 something and she has trouble breathing, doesn't have the energy to get up and move, can't see well, and the cancer is hitting her brain as well, so she has memory problems too.
when you have someone this close showing the effects of a lifetime of smoking, i don't know how anyone can continue smoking. you see it every day. you watch them deteriorate. i don't care if it is hard to quit--do it already--i don't want to lose anyone else.
posted by Caity @ 6:46 AM
1 comments
