Why do people smoke?
Posted on Apr 19th 2008 9:00AM by Jacki DonaldsonI guess that's the job of a little boy -- to figure out the actions that surround him. Which makes it the job of his mommy to help him make sense of it all. So that's what I do, all the while hoping I steer him into adopting a repulsion for smoking and not an affection for it. Sometimes, when he holds a twig between his fingers and then places it in his mouth, letting it dangle with perfect lip control, I worry that repulsion is a long way off. Then I remember he is only seven years old. There's still time.
"Why do people smoke?" Joey asked me the other day in the car, just after we walked by a man smoking outside a Walgreen's drugstore. "Yuck," Joey declared as he walked through the man's cloud of smoke. "Yes! He thinks it's yucky," were my first thoughts. Then I did my best at answering Joey's question.
I told Joey that people might smoke because at some point in their lives, someone asked them if they wanted to try a cigarette. So they tried. And they liked it. And maybe they don't want to quit. Or maybe they can't quit. One way or another, it becomes a habit, I explained. "Just like you want sugar all the time," I told Joey. Some people want to smoke all the time. Or not all the time. Maybe just once in a while. Still, it's not good for you, I continued. Either is sugar. I told Joey that smoking -- and sugar -- can make people sick.
Joey knows smoking can cause coughs. He knows it can cause difficulty breathing. He also knows it can cause cancer. It won't always cause cancer, though, I told him. But it might. And some people who never smoke -- like me -- can still get cancer. That's why we have to make healthy choices for our bodies. Not smoking is one good choice.
Eating healthy and exercising are also good choices, I said. I told Joey that I'm not sure why I got cancer. But I know how I can help prevent it from coming back. So I eat well and exercise well. I sleep enough. I try not to get angry. I try to be happy.
I can only hope that Joey understands a speck of what I tried to teach him. I can only hope he sees my example and wants to mimic me. I can only hope this seven-year-old boy grows up to be what I want him to be most: A non-smoker. But he's only seven. And for that, I am grateful.
For some tips on talking with kids about smoking, check out this resource.
