The Devastation of a Bad Habit

What do you do about a friend who smokes?

We've known each other, what, maybe 15 years. We've been friends for probably 7 years or so. I've cajoled. I've badgered. None of that helped.

I'm taking a different tack now. I'm at the point where I occasionally ask where she is with the program, and then listen to her when she says she hasn't taken the next step of calling the doctor. She did call the doctor a few years ago, got a nicotine patch, got the schedule of the support group. She ended up using the patch sporadically but then did not attend the support group meetings. You can guess how successful that venture was.

She has a family history of cancer. I believe her father died of lung cancer, and her mother succumbed to another type of cancer. That would scare the hell out of me. No, it does scare the hell out of me. I worry about my friend.

She's getting older. The smoking is taking its toll, in a very personal way. Still, the message is not getting through to her.

Perhaps she'll read this and know how much her friends and family worry about her, perhaps it'll give her the message that she can start again on the program with the help of her doctor. We can only hope.