I HATE SMOKING!

Tomorrow, February 11, is the 6th Death Anniversary of my eldest sister, Christine. She died at the age of 43. She had a heart attack on a Sunday morning on the 10th, was revived by the doctor, and eventually passed away the evening of the next day while being examined at St. Luke's Hospital. She had her first and only heart attack alone. She eventually died after meeting her family. She lived separated from her husband for around 10 years. She died reconciled with him. She lived with a sense of guilt for the many bad things she might have done out of mischief or selfishness. She died already knowing that the light she first saw after her heart attack felt peaceful and was beautiful to behold.



One beautiful thing I realized was that she died on the day of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. My sister had her heart attack on the 10th. She was revived though... perhaps because she was to be called to eternal life through the hands of our Blessed Mother, on HER day! Indeed, if we are to truly pray from our heart the prayers that we have known and memorized since our childhood, they do get answered! My sister's death may be considered a loss, but it is also a gain for me to realize that with a simple Hail Mary, our Blessed Mother does "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death".



Another thing I realized after my sister's death is the evil of smoking! Christine's heart attack was actually triggered by her constant smoking. She started before she turned 20, and she has never stopped after that. (Ah yes, I did squeal about that to our Mom when she was bullying me one Sunday afternoon.) She just could not think well if she was not puffing. Being an officer in a bank brought her the usual tension and stress. That "magic" white stick was the great -- yet cunning -- disguised comfort. Some people who mourned with us were even surprised to see her. They wondered how such a thin woman could end up having a heart attack. Oh yes, this is meeting point of the "Laurel's" and the "Hardy's" when it comes to heart attacks -- just a small white stick!



Personally, I really don't like cigarettes, particularly because of the smoke! I did bring cigarettes to my father and lit them up for him like a butler or small soldier. Yet, even at that time, I never really got impressed at the seeming "cool" stuff of smoking.



Perhaps it's the smell of the smoke! You try your best to smell well after a good shower and some swish of cologne and end up taking the smoke of someone insensitive, brainless dude waiting for a train beside you.



Perhaps it's the so-called "Passive Smoking" phenomenon. Have you ever deliberately tried breathing in the exhaled air of someone beside you? What more if it's visibly detected by that smoke!



Perhaps it's the smoker's bad breath or those ugly teeth. I remember my uncle showing affection to me as a 3 year old boy and I also cannot forget the foul smell coming from his mouth! My sister, Christine, was considered beautiful as a young girl and even when she was already a mother... but don't let her smile!



If I am going to die -- even today -- I don't want the cause of my death to be something useless, worthless, or something that could have been avoided. Cigarettes would be one!... even passively!



Japan is a smoking country! You'll even find seats for smokers in MacDonald's! Things, though, are getting stricter lately. The law does not allow smokers on TV anymore. No tobacco commercials, too. And they're getting expensive ... and all these tobacco companies now prey on the developing countries.



I do not actually desire to be a crusader against smoking. I still go for one's personal choice to smoke or not. Yet, at the same time, I might as well be a crusader for respect and sensitivity. They say smokers get sick earlier, die earlier, have lung cancer, throat cancer, impotence or they just recede and get dumber and dumber. I would like to say, I don't care if they get affected or not. But let the picture that follows be one direct way to tell them... LET IT BE YOU, not me!



(If you want to see the pic clearly, just click on the link below. )
Thanks to CK AE76. I got this pic from his blog.)
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