Don’t Kid Yourself-- Smoking Is Addictive

The April 27 article “Smoke Signals” reminded me that, at 26, I’ve now been a smoker for 10 years.

To Clare van de Mark and “Lisa” and their certainty that when they “get sick of it” or choose to get married and have babies, they’ll be ready to quit: Oh, really?

At my high school, smoking was one of the few privileges for upperclassmen. So we smoked. We said we’d quit when we got to college.

In college, those term papers just couldn’t get written without a smoke break. So we smoked. We said we’d quit when we graduated.

Resumes, job hunting, dating, just making it through the day were too stressful to add dumping an addiction to the list. So we smoked.

Something other than me controls a part of my life. That’s addiction. I hate myself for doing something I love. That’s addiction.

My wedding day is three months away, and I said I’d quit before I got married. So, Clare and Lisa, think I’ll make it?

AMANDA L. BEALL

Studio City