A letter to smokers

Li

I wanted to share this letter written by my cousin. It may not change your mind but it should.

" A father and son stepped outside after dinner to smoke a cigarette. The son shared with his father he would soon be a father as well. Both were over joyed. The father, however worried to himself if he would get to watch his granddaughter grow and enjoy being a Grandpa. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and his son did not know. A few months later and the son passes his newborn daughter to his father, who struggles to hold her as he untangles the line of his oxygen tank.

Now the baby girl is 3 years old and begs her Grandpa to come play. Disapointment crosses her face each time he tells her he can't.

The son sits by his father's bedside. His father begs him to throw his cigarettes in the trash, he tells him how much they stole from him. Not even 60 years old and planning his funeral.

The son stopped smoking, he watched his daughter grow into a beautiful young lady. He cried at her High School Graduation. As he readied himself for his last summer with his baby girl before she left for college, he he noticied he did not feel himself. A trip to the doctor revealed an ugly truth. The 10 years of smoking had done it's damage. Just like his father he had cancer.

My Dad tried, he quit, but it was not enough, the damage was done. I watched my Mom struggle to keep it together as her daughter left the nest and her husband entered hospice. I fought to stah awake in class after driving back and forth 4 hours to home to help my parents. I considered dropping out of school to be home, get a job and help ease the financial burden of medical bills. At the start of my sophomore year, we burried my Dad. I will not have my Dad to give me away at my wedding. My children will never know their Grandpa. I will never again get to feel his arms around me, hear his laugh, or see his smile. So, the next time you get ready to light up, take a look at your child or think or your future child, and as yourself, is it going to be worth it to break their hearts, is it worth it to miss out on so much."