Sitting in a leopard blind at night is an amazing experience. You develop a paranoia that even breathing is too loud and will tip off a wary cat. Each and every movement is slow, deliberate, even when compared to raising a bow or rifle in a tree stand with the buck looking right at you. Well, as the PH lit the 27th cigarette that night we really had to wonder. Sure the wind was blowing from the bait toward us and tracks suggested the spotted feline would approach upwind, but still...27 cigarettes? Fortunately the frequent stifled coughs (smokers hack) did not deter the hungry beast, but enough was enough. When asked about the 4 pack a day habit, we were told that cigarette smoke doesn’t frighten animals and besides “..it’s the best wind tester I know of.”

We won’t argue whether cigarette smoke deters animals from coming into range because that isn't a real issue when it comes to smoking cigarettes and health. However before we proceed we have a disclaimer: neither of us smokes. This hasn't always been true. Former smokers tend to be the most rabid anti-smokers there are, but not us. We take a Libertarian approach and believe that adults can make their own decisions when provided with accurate information.

We feel that the medical problem of smoking has not benefited from the nanny State approach of controlling it. To some extent, new medical information is now perceived by many of our smoking patients as part of a government propaganda campaign. There's legislation in at least one state to charge a parent with child abuse/neglect if the parent is smoking in their car with a minor child. The natural reaction to this type of governmental intrusion is oppositional. We felt it's worth it though to go over some realities about smoking cigarettes. You're an adult and can make your own decisions if you have some facts.

Smoking is simply not a healthy thing to do. Sure, there are lots of unhealthy things in our world but few provide so little benefit and are so disabling and deadly. Yes we know that not everyone who smokes gets a health problem from smoking. But we can find an exception to nearly everything. It's just a fact that smoking cigarettes is destructive; rare exceptions noted.

Exactly why smoking is so harmful is less clear. There are hundreds and hundreds of compounds in tobacco smoke with long names and toxic qualities. Theories abound point to smoke particulates, specific compounds, and exposure to high temperature air as the offending quality of cigarette smoke. Smoking cigarettes can cause: cancer (lung, head and neck, esophageal, kidney, bladder, pancreatic), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, osteoporosis, hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease (also included here is impotence).

Why do people smoke? Here's a billion dollar question. It's not because cigarette smoke makes a dandy wind direction detector! In reality, people begin to smoke because they enjoy it. We can debate “peer pressure” all day long, but the bottom line is that people enjoy smoking. And the children of smokers have substantially higher rates of smoking. “Do as I say and not as I do” will never actually modify adolescent behavior. Kids start to smoke because they mimic their parents, who in reality are their role models. Smoking as rebellion can also be a reason some start (the more rules, the bigger the taboo, the greater the rebellion).

In order for people to make big changes in their lives they have to perceive a need for change. The consequences of cigarette smoking provide many reasons to stop, but does so in a way that isn't particularly motivating; the time between smoking regularly and encountering a health problem is almost always years and years. Hence many folks deny the connection between health problems and smoking until the first big problem arises.