Some time ago I was talking to a young smoker. He knew that I am a specialist in smoking cessation, and he jokingly told me that he would see me in a few years, that I was young, and that he could quit anytime he wanted.

I hid a smile as I wondered how many times I had heard people fool themselves in the same way.

He directed the conversation to his beloved guinea pigs. He loves and cares for them as if they were children. They were groomed, allowed to roam freely in their home, hugged and fed the best fresh food.

I asked her if she thought her guinea pigs deserved the best and she said of course she did. I asked him if he would let them smoke and he said he was being ridiculous.

Then I wondered out loud that if angry little creatures were treated so well, then why didn’t they deserve the same treatment.

She was confused for a moment and then guiltily looked at her cigarettes on the table. He mumbled something about everyone needing a vice and again diverted the conversation from any health-related topic.

Humans are strangers, we love our animals but we do not dedicate the same dedication to our own care.

I wonder what part of your life you are paying more attention to than your own body, and maybe you could consider thinking more of yourself. Of course, it is your body and your life and it will likely outlive many generations of guinea pigs.

Of course, animals can be offered the highest kindness, that of a kind death. As a smoker, you will be medically supported to the bitter end.

Wow, that sounds horrible and a long, long way from a healthy young woman who smokes and still sees many decades of healthy breathing ahead of her.

As Paul Simon said in his song “the boxer” “a man (or in this case a woman) hears what he wants to hear and ignores the rest. Hence, the endless anti-smoking campaigns with lurid images go unnoticed by so many more smokers. youths.

Guinea pigs, dogs, cats, horses, and even rats will continue to live luxurious lives as some of their owners slowly commit suicide out of ignorance, arrogance, or sheer stupidity. The harsh realities are sometimes unpleasant, but no less necessary for people to take the action they need.