By
Scott Walsberger
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My daily routine includes a good morning kiss from my four year old daughter. Once she’s had her breakfast and I’ve had my coffee, she gets ready for day care and I get ready for work. Then I walk her to “school” and usually I get another kiss goodbye.
Yesterday on our walk she noticed a discarded cigarette pack on the ground. “Daddy, what’s that?” The diseased eyeball on the pack made it clear it was something “disgusting”. I explained that it was a cigarette pack and that cigarettes were unhealthy. As I started my monologue about the harms of tobacco smoking she interrupted with “I know that Daddy. You’ve told me that before.” She has gotten the message.
Smoking kills. Two in every three long term smokers will die of their smoking habit. The harms of smoking are well known. 88% of adults in NSW know that smoking cigarettes is a high risk for developing cancer.
Quitting save lives and quitting early extends lives. While quitting smoking at any age is beneficial, quitting before 35 years of age adds 10 years of life compared to those who continued smoking.
In addition to the two morning kisses I usually get a couple more every evening when I pick her up and put her to bed. If I was a smoker that would be at least four kisses a day, nearly 15,000 over 10 years. Life’s little moments are too precious to miss out on. If you smoke, think about how many kisses from a loved one you could be missing. There’s never been a better time to quit. Find out more about how to quit smoking.