Cancer -Why do people smoke?

Today would have been my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom -- we miss you! Cancer took her away from us way too soon. More specifically, cigarettes killed my Mom!

Why do people smoke knowing that it is going to take their life? My Mom was a Registered Nurse, she knew the dangers of smoking all too well. Yet she continued to inhale those deadly Cancer sticks! My Dad died at the young age of fifty. It was a heart attack that took him away; however, I'm sure that smoking five-packs a day of Lucky Strikes was a major part of his downfall.

*The American Cancer Society says, "Cancer accounts for nearly one-quarter of deaths in the United States, exceeded only by heart diseases. In 2002, there were 557,271 cancer deaths in the US."

I don't understand why people continue to smoke knowing the danger. What satisfaction do they get from it? It is a very expensive habit, it causes your fingers and clothes to smell of smoke, it yellows your teeth, gives you bad breath, makes you cough, gives you shortness of breath, causes Cancer, etc.; the list goes on and on!

We miss you Mom, you were always there for us when we needed you and kept us out of harm's way. You knew better, why did you continue to smoke?

*Source: US Mortality Public Use Data Tape 2002, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004.