I, on the other hand, had already done that several years ago when I wrote a column in a national Catholic magazine that said a person couldn’t be pro-smoking and pro-life.
My oh my, did I hear from readers. They knew plenty of people — they themselves! — smoked and were strongly pro-life.
The annual Great American Smokeout, celebrated today, seems like a good time to … fan those flames. (The American Cancer Society promotes the Smokeout to help smokers quit cigarettes for at least one day, in hopes they’ll quit forever. More people quit smoking on this day than any other day of the year.)
So I’ll say it again: You can’t be pro-life and pro-smoking.
Yes, it’s possible to be active in the pro-life movement and be a smoker. To be pro-smoking is not to be “pro-abortion.”
In the same way, it’s possible to be active in the movement and never use a seat belt when riding in a car. It’s possible to be active and be a drinking alcoholic. It’s possible to be active and not see to it that one’s kids wear helmets when they go biking. It’s possible to do many things that put one’s life and the lives of others at greater risk and be active in the pro-life movement.
But, I believe, it seems obvious that to use a seat belt is to, if not be more pro-life, be more consistently pro-life. To stop abusing alcohol. To make sure the kids have their helmets on. To stop smoking.
That’s so because taking those risks is to have a snag, a tear, a loose thread in that “seamless garment of life.”
On the other hand, avoiding or eliminating those risks — acts which promote our own health and safety and the health and safety of others — is to show a greater respect for life, a greater respect for our own human bodies, those incredible temples of the Holy Spirit.
Certainly one of the signs of wisdom — that great gift of the Spirit — is taking advantage of the advantages. What do I mean? I mean when an opportunity presents itself, we grab onto it. We use it for all its worth.
And the Great American Smokeout is priceless. It can be the event, the occasion, the reason, that tips the scale. That moves a person from smoker to ex-smoker.
We all know that when it comes to smoking, the medical and anecdotal evidence is overwhelming: Smoking kills people. Ask any family with a longtime smoker. Ask any family that has buried a loved one who was a longtime smoker.
We also know nicotine — the drug that tobacco delivers — is highly addictive. Horribly addictive. If quitting were easy, the vast majority of smokers would do it. If quitting were easy, that vast majority of those who tried it, time and again, would have succeeded on the first attempt.
But breaking free of a drug addiction, no matter if the drug is legal or not, is never easy. And, researchers tell us, nicotine is one of the worst. Its hold, both physically and psychologically, is one of the strongest.
I want to be clear on this: Pro-life supporters who smoke aren’t stupid. And they certainly aren’t evil. Rather, they need all the help, all the support, all the encouragement possible to break free of the drug habit that controls them even as it eats away at their health.
People have asked me if it was difficult coming up with 1,440 reasons to quit smoking. The answer is no, not really. As an ex-smoker myself some of them were easy to recall. But, more importantly, it became apparent that the reasons to quit smoking fell into two distinct categories, the negative and the positive.
For example, on the negative side:
Cigarette smoke contains hydrogen cyanide.
Tongue cancer.
Reduced lung capacity.
Secondhand smoke kills more than 1,000 nonsmokers in the United States every week.
Cigarettes are toxic when used as intended.
And on the positive:
Your grandchildren will want want you at their high-school graduation.
Smoother skin.
Climbing stairs more easily.
You want a long retirement.
Your 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th birthdays.
(And some of the reasons were eye-openers or used a lighter touch: “One pack a day is 7,300 cigarettes per year.” “When you stop to smell the roses, you’ll actually be able to smell the roses.” “The princess won’t kiss a frog that smells like an ashtray.” “The frog can’t be kissed if the princess has a cigarette between her lips.”)
If a person quits, he or she goes a long way in eliminating the bad stuff. And a long way in promoting the good.
It isn’t just the length of a life that can be increased but the quality of that life. And as Catholics, we are for life. We are pro-life. We are called upon, we are obligated, to defend human life. Not just the lives of others, but our own.
Your life — my life — is a gift from God. We can’t squander it.
We can’t let it go up in smoke.
