In a lot of old movies you can see men smoking pipes or cigarettes or cigars and wearing smoking jackets or a woman in a sexy pose, a cigarette between her fingers, blowing smoke up in the air. Those were cool looks back then. Since finding out how bad smoking is for you and the people around you, it isn't cool anymore.

Have you ever watched someone die from lung cancer? I have. It is a horrible way to die. The person who is dying is in pain most of the time and throwing up from the drugs that are suppose to help, but never do. The caretaker wants to help, but there is nothing that can be done to make the person feel better.

When it gets bad enough someone has to tend to all of their personal needs 24 hours a day. The person dying feels humiliated and the caretaker suffers from the strain of it all. It is a heart-breaking job to watch someone you love die this way and there is nothing you can do to make it easier for them.

When the person dies it doesn't end for the caretaker. There are feelings of quilt for "letting" the person die, thinking they didn't do everything they could, even though nothing could be done to stop it. It takes a lot out of the caretaker and a long time to get over it.

The person dying or the caretaker could be your mother, father, brother, sister, husband, wife, or you. I quit smoking 25 years ago because I wanted to live; you can too. So please quit smoking, you are killing the people you love and you are killing me.