I am responding to your opinion: “No smoking, no problem?” from the May 15–21, issue of The Marlton Sun.
Just one year ago, in May 2012, my family suffered the loss of my father due to complications from a lifetime of smoking.
This smoking caused my dad to suffer from COPD, emphysema, a heart attack, cardiac arrest and several occasions of heart failure, as well as other complications. Dad was on oxygen several times during his life.
He was never able to let go of his attachment to the tank after his cardiac arrest in February 2012. Then, dad suffered the smoking stole her natural voice. This was a devastating loss since her voice was used throughout her workday.
Each cigarette, each day is a choice. There are strategies that help overcome the addiction. In addition to nicotine patches, there are alternative options such as acupuncture available. If you choose to stop smoking today, you will often experience better breathing in a few days.
You may soon learn that food becomes more flavorful and satisfying to you within a short period of time.
Protect those you love dearly.
Do you love your family more than your addiction?
If so, face what triggers your smoking. Face the anxiety and/or fear that you strive to overcome with smoke so that you will not have the problem of struggling for each breath of air, as my dad did during his many weeks of oxygen dependency and his many hospital stays.
If you care about your future, stop smoking to protect yourself, but for the rest of us, there must be a law to protect us in public places.
The fumes from smokers of pipes, cigarettes and other fume producing products travel much farther than your smoker’s diminished sense of smell could know.
Rose Taylor
