Smoking Buys You Cancer
April 23, 2007
A true case of Wayne Greer, a black of Richton Park , Illinois , who had been smoking for 42 years was recently reported as per which, Wayne started smoking at the age of 12 after seeing actors like Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne smoking in the big screen. Giving that macho image in the mind of wannabe's was a cool thing to do. After 42 years of smoking and spending more than $65,000, he realized the ill effects of smoking and decided to quit smoking.
"Everybody smoked. All my friends smoked. It was the thing...Then one day [about 15 years ago] I was driving - me and a friend of mine coming home from the job - and I was just coughing and I told him, "Man, I've got to be a fool. I'm setting up here and these cigarettes are making me cough.' I'm just coughing away," recalls the now 71-year-old. "I just threw the whole pack out the window, just like that. And I never smoked again."
However, it was already too late. He began to have breathing and sweating problem. 3 years ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Though it's been 15 years since he had quit smoking still cancer catch up with him. The Doctors estimated him to live 2 to 7 months but through chemotherapy, natural herbs, prayers and the love and tender care from his wife Bobbie, he is still alive today.
In a special report by the Centers for Disease Control, "the money that African-American smokers spend on cigarettes in a single day could send more than 2,500 Black students to college for an entire year. "It also reported that 45,000 of deaths in a year among the black community are caused by smoking-related diseases.
The reason why the rate of smokers is so high among the black community is because of the tobacco companies, Billions of cigarettes and cigars are sold to the black communities and advertisement are accordingly made to grab their attention. "No community should ever be targeted with a product that kills. Tobacco companies reach the Black community with glitzy ads that give the wrong message - especially to children. Tobacco ads show only beautiful people. They never show people who become sick and die because they smoked."
Further, in a report by "Pathways to Freedom, Winning the Fight Against Tobacco," states better utilization of money by what useful things smokers could had bought instead of cigarettes.
In one week: Smokers save enough to buy 2 CD's, a full tank of gas, pay phone bills and tickets for sports game.
In one year: He could save enough money to buy computer, vacations for two or enough money for down payment of a car.
In twenty years: He could save enough money for a down payment of a house.
What smokers like Greer get by buying cigarette is a down payment for cancer.
Trying to make up for his past mistakes, Greer is an active advocate for anti-smoking in the meantime fighting his sickness bravely. He tried to convince his family, friends and to anybody, to quit smoking and get cancer screening of all kind. He says. "I like talking to people about it because I don't want to see anybody go through what I went through. It's really a bad thing. You really suffer a lot" and "I'm going to tell you something. I hate to see anybody smoke."
Starting from today, he will be undergoing a new round of Chemotherapy as the cancer had spread to the bones.
Source: http://www.louisianaweekly.com |
