quit day and a sign

So yesterday was the day. I had set my quit day for the 26th June about 3 weeks ago. I know why I needed to quit for my own personal reasons, but yesterday was also the day that truely made it obvious that quitting was not an option. A dear, dear long-time family friend died yesterday at the age of 58 ... of lung cancer and other smoking related tumours. She was diagnosed in Oct last year. Was told she was cancer free and then within 3 weeks of the intial operation, she was terminal. She had mulitple inoperable lung cancers and several brain tumours. She was operated on and she was given 12-18mths to live. She made it 9 months.

She has 5 kids, and 3 grandchildren and another on the way. She was an amazing woman, strong and smart and tough. She made it through some really tough times, but always pulled through. The only thing that beat her was cigarettes. She tried to quit on and off for the last 30 years. I even remember her and my mum going to hypnotherapy to stop smoking about 25 years ago, and coming straight out of the session only to light up a cancer stick within seconds! She continued to smoke while everyone else around her quit. You know, she smoked up until the day she died. Even having the cancer and having suffered as much as she was suffering, she could not give up.

What an addiction. What a drug. The power of the nicotine is amazing and no one can beat it. It is the most harmful drug on the planet... and now I get angry.... why why why is this a legal drug if it kills and hurts so many people? WHY???