Northeast PA (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) has just been named The Second Smokiest Place in the USA by the Daily Beast. They arrived at this ranking by calculating the number of smokers per capita (23 percent of us), the amount smoked per day (17 cigs) and the percentage who tried to quit. Tulsa Oklahoma was # 1 by the way and Memphis was third.
The Times-Tribune did a follow-up story and it's no surprise that with all of this smoking, lung cancer rates in Northeast PA are 18 percent above the national average.
For the most part, I'm a pretty mellow, passive kind of guy - but I've got to come out and say (or type this) - I HATE SMOKING!
Growing up, most of my relatives smoked - my dad quit early - but everyone else smoked right up until they were forced to quit - and it was the smoking that landed them in the bad health in the first place.
I've never smoked - but I'm lucky - it's never appealed to me. NOW, I'm certain that I always was allergic to it - a blessing in disguise, I suppose. In my 20's, I'd always feel like garbage the next morning after hanging out in a smoky bar - sore throat, watery eyes. I get these symptoms now whenever I'm near someone smoking.
However, the image that sealed my lifetime refusal to smoke is from my elementary school days and that of my dear sweet grandmother. She used to watch my sister and I for a few days each year as my parents went to an out-of-town business meeting. Grammy would give me a bath - scrubbing me nice and clean with a washcloth - AND A CIGARETTE HANGING FROM HER LIPS. Even then I thought, how I could I be clean with all of that smoke around me? That did the trick. Thanks Grammy!
OK - Truth be told: I carry a few extra pounds - and yes - that could very well "do me in" someday - and I guess we all have our own baggage - but at least my eating fattening food here and there can't hurt anyone else - like secondhand smoke does. (Don't get me started on parents smoking in a car with closed windows while their kids are in the back seat!!).
Let's hope next time we make a National list, it's for something good - like the friendliest or hardest-working people, etc. There's a lot to be proud of - but not this.
