Smoking equals bad nightmares

So last night, I had a nightmare that my dad had quit smoking, but only because he was diagnosed with lung cancer... it was quite emotional, all the thoughts of my dad pretty much knocking on death's door, and I woke up crying. But then I realized it was all a dream and fell back to sleep.

But, however, my dad did recently quit smoking last week, again. It's his 3rd time so far. He has a 20+ year history of smoking, probably a 1/4 pack-year rate. You are probably thinking that it isn't very much, but the fact of the matter is it still exists and has its risk factors and that is the thing with risk, you can be low-risk and it just MIGHT happen to you. The question is, are you willing to take that risk?

Anyways, back to the story. I do find it encouraging because knowing it is his 3rd attempt means he is that much more likely to quite for certain. According to the literature, relapse occur pretty often, and the best way to quit smoking for good is to keep trying. I think it was an average of 4-5 attempts before it is gone for good.

If you smoke and are trying to quit (you really should), there are so many resources out there to help; support groups, family support, help lines, pharmacology, self-benefits... It is never too late to quit, there are short and long-term benefits to quitting.

In all seriousness, quit. There are just so many diseases out there where smoking is a risk factor. And I am SURE that smoking is not your only problem, so you are just compounding more risk factors. The pharmacology available is quite good in increasing your chances of quitting, however, you have to put in the effort as well. Chantix, nicotine patches, bupropion are all out there, some to help you quit, some to keep you from getting back on the habit. Consult your physician. So do yourself (and us as well) a favor, stay healthy so we don't have to clean up your mess, it will saves us all a lot of work.

Comment if you have any questions or whatever.

A new beginning

Let's see how this goes...