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(but no less
important)
(M126) Kortni's Mom
I stumbled across this site after coming into a computer room where I couldn't breathe. My name is Kortni, I'm 17 and I've had ear infections, sinus infections, and bronchitis practically all my life because my mom can't stop smoking and doesn't really seem to care what effects it has on me, regardless of what doctors have told her. So tonight, I'm plastering the door to this room with every fact on smoking that I can find in some efforts to persuade her to at least not smoke in here. The more she does it, the more I feel my chest tighten and the more I can't breathe, so I'm going to do something about it. Any help, words of encouragement, links, etc. are much appreciated, and thank you for putting such a great site on the web. Keep up the great work.--Kortni (M312) Pam's Mom My mother died two months ago. She was 73. She smoked for over 40 years, and quit 6 years ago. I am writing this email to let everyone know that there are serious vascular problems that are caused by smoking. Do a web search on Peripheral Vascular Disease. You will find a description of the disease that killed my mother. Prior to her last illness that began four months ago, Mom had been diagnosed with asthma and fibromyalgia. Her pain was so severe that she was prescribed oxycontin at high doses. Her breathing problems had become more severe and she required an occasional visit to the emergency room for treatment.
We all felt so sorry for Mom.
Her pain was so severe, and her breathing was so labored. However, we
never expected what happened to her. You see, she had been misdiagnosed.
She did not have fibromyalgia, she had been experiencing severe claudication-
a term used to describe the pain that you feel when your veins are so narrowed
that your blood can not circulate. She was diagnosed when she suddenly
experienced a number of blood clots that lodged in her abdomen and foot. She
had two surgeries- the second was a below the knee amputation of one of her
legs. The horrors that she experienced over her six week
hospitatilization can not be described. Due to her long smoking history
and the irreversible damage done to all of the vessels in her body and her
lungs, she never had a chance.
My heart is broken, but I am
using my time of grieving to conquer my 30 year nicotine addiction. It
is very hard, but I can assure you that it is nothing compared to what I saw
my mother experience. I pray that I have quit in time.
(M328) Darla's Story
I am celebrating my 45th
birthday in 2 weeks...I have been a non-smoker for the past 6 months. I
did not quit because I was scared of cancer...I was scared of smoking
contributing to the heart disease that is in my family. I have 2
children a 19yr old son and a 4yr old daughter...I also have a new
granddaughter. I had 2 people I knew quite well die of heart attacks
last fall...both smokers....the funny thing is I didn't want to quit and if
you had told me a week before I did that the next Friday would be my first
smoke free day I would have laughed....but after those 2 deaths I didn't feel
as if I had a choice...I am the mother of that beautiful 4yr old that is
running through my house and I am the grandmother of that wonderful 8 month
old granddaughter....maybe I need to believe that I need to be here for them
... but it is for them that I will never again smoke another cigarette...I
want to watch my daughter graduate from high school and cherish the years I
have to spend with my granddaughter. Was it a struggle... of course!
My smoking friends and family all say to me I wish I could quit...you can!
find what it is that makes you want to quit and go for it...don't give up it
gets easier every day and seeing the pride on my little girl's face when she
tells people her mommy doesn't smoke anymore is very much worth any struggle I
have had to deal with
best of luck to you all
darla
(M23) To whom it may concern;
I am 27 years old and I've been a smoker since I am 11 years, old. I quit one time for a year cause I was having severe chest pain.
After I stopped, I felt great. But being addicted to nicotine never left me. I felt that mentally I could keep going on, physically my body kept desiring the drug. Everyday I want to quit but I forgot how I did it the
first time. I cough almost all day. I have asthma because of smoking. (M62) I quit smoking 39 days ago. I'm still on patches now 3 mg but feel horrible. I have headaches, severe depression, dizziness and sleep up to 18 hours a day. Is this still nicotine withdrawal? If so, when will it go away? I don't want to smoke but don't want to do anything stupid with this depression. Anonymous (M103) I have a boyfriend who smokes and I need someone to tell me how I can get him to stop! He said he would stop smoking for me but he didn't stop and that was 4 months ago! He will have about 4 or more cigarettes a day and sometimes he lies to me and tells me he only had one when I find out he had about 4 or more. Please help. (M98) Here is my story, I started to smoke at 13 years old. Both of my parents smoked all my life. Of my four siblings only one does not smoke. So out of a family of 7 people, 6 smoke. I've tried to quit so many times in so many ways that I've lost count. My husband is the kind of smoker who can take it or leave it. He doesn't know how lucky he is. I've smoked for 26+ years, through both my of my pregnancies (how selfish), inside the house as my young children grew, through colds, the flu, etc. My health paid the price for all those years of smoking. At 38 years of age I had an aorta/bi-femoral bi-pass graph done 7 months ago. It was awhile before I was back on my feet. Unfortunately the graft only last so long. I will need this operation possibly every 10, 15 or 20 years. The doctors don't know how long it last for each individual. Why is it legal for cigarettes to be sold? How can the government allow people to be trapped by this deadly, disgusting and demoralizing addiction. We truly live in a society where money is the most important issue! People are dying horrible deaths and the tobacco companies just get richer. W. B. (M05) I'm 18 and I have been smoking for six years and I have tried everything to quit. It has caused a great deal of pain and doctor visits. Anonymous (M21)Dear NV
(M27) To whom it may concern: (M31) My name is Cathy. Smoking was killing me. I'd wake up in the middle of the
night, not able to catch my breath, and my chest would hurt so much from all the
coughing I was doing. Thoracic surgeons work in the following areas: cardiac surgery (heart), general thoracic surgery (lung, esophagus, and mediastinum), pediatric thoracic surgery and transplant surgery. They often perform surgery on people suffering from smoking-related diseases. Their message to smokers is: "If you think you look cool smoking, you should see what we see." Buerger's Disease (M48) Hello, My medical bills have skyrocketed to around $20,000 at this time and I am totally unable to walk and am totally disabled. One thing that goes around in my mind is I have smoked Marlboro filters for almost 20 years and I never even had a clue that I was going to have my life affected in this way due to smoking cigarettes. (M49) I am a victim of the tobbacco industry. I've smoked for years and now I have what you call (Buerger"S) it is a very bad disease I have lost half a foot plus my toes too it. A the results show it is nicotine related. I have tried so many things to stop smoking but none have worked. I have had 2 massive heartattacks at the same time in one year, can you suggest any way i could stop smoking? Negative letters (M002) I started smoking at the age of 16 and am now 40. Our parents, teachers and church leaders were forever warning us against it, and contrary to popular belief, peer pressure was not such a big issue either, because none of my friends, smokers or non-smokers, tried to get me involved in smoking. I always enjoyed smoking, always wished I did not smoke, but seeing as I enjoyed it, I could not see why I should stop. It is my life, etc. etc. I always admired people who were able to stop, and I have known many people who successfully managed to quit. The problem is, I thought I was too weak to stop by myself. Maybe part of the problem was that I really enjoyed it, and tried to quit more because of other peoples' opinions and wishes than my own. Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that I chose to smoke, knowing that it was bad for me and for those around me. I cannot in all honesty ever try and lay the blame at tobacco companies or their advertiser's doors. And most people would admit to this, if they were honest with themselves. Regards. B. R., Paraguay (M008) To whom it may concern:
While generally perplexed and dumbfounded by anyone who chooses to smoke
cigarettes, I must take you to task for something. (M007) Hello, I have done what you suggested. I stopped for nearly a month actually. I enjoy a cigarette with a cup of coffee or after a meal. Yes, it is an addiction, but it does not take away my choices. I can still CHOOSE TO QUIT. And so can any smoker. Just like any addiction .. one can choose to stop. The Cancer Society wants people to stop smoking. They scream it is an addiction and will kill you. Well, it IS an addiction, and it CAN kill you. But so will stepping of a curb at the wrong time or slipping in ones bathtub. Shall we stop going out of our homes and stop bathing and stop eating anything that is not inspected and passed by the federal government as 100% healthy??? These things will never happen and neither will there ever be a smoke free world. So leave us alone. Give us your warnings and leave it us to choose. Anyone can stop. (An addict has, by definition, lost the ability to make a choice NV) Thousands of smokers die from NON smoking causes. Have a nice life!!! G. A. (M0015) Hello,
Freedom to be a thinking person with free choices should not be taken from this earth. If you do not want to smoke that is your choice. For my vote. Leave people to choose how they want to live. That is one of the
reasons we have this country. Leave me freedom of personal choice and go after bigger game, drug dealers, murderers, gang members and child abusers.
Those are issues that need addressing. Not how many cigarettes I smoke in a day. (M0062) When people ban together to control personal choices they are advocating a way
of life that Hitler would have been proud of. No
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