[redwitch]

If you started smoking now and were 13, yup, someone should be held responsible -- the tobacco companies who make smoking look attractive even while warning of the hazards of smoking and whoever supplied you the cigarettes since you could not legally smoke.

I started smoking as a teenager because I was angry. My mother had become ill and I had to go to New Jersey to stay with family friends in the middle of the school year. At that time, cigarettes in packs of 4 were given out with dinners on all flights (regardless of the age of the person -- they came with all meals). So, got my four ciggies, smoked 'em up, bought a pack at SFO and got off the plane smoking. Mom's friends thought I was allowed to smoke and kept me supplied the whole time I was there. By the time I got home, I was completely hooked.

Since then, I've tried cold turkey, hypnosis, acupuncture, the patch and gum. Nothing has worked to date. I doubt anyone smokes today because they want to -- you're treated as a second-class citizen too often. For those who succeeded in quitting, good for you. For those in my shoes, my sympathies.

If you start smoking now and you're an adult, the onus should be on you. If you started smoking when the facts were kept hidden (but very well known to tobacco companies) and have tried to quit repeatedly, who should bear the responsibility? And do remember that while there are warnings on cigarettes, tobacco companies still do everything possible to hook the next generation up to and including paying stars, singers, athletes to smoke; having billboards near schools; paying to show smoking in movies; etc.

Sorry, no sympathy for the tobacco company here. They deserve to pay and pay big.