dear parents,

Matthew died at the age of 55 yesterday. He was born and raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Matthew’s parents both smoked, and often, his mother would be smoking at home right in front of him. This seemed to be a normal routine for matt to see his mom or dad smoking a cigarette when he came home from school and when he left for school. Smoking would look like it’s natural in Matt’s house, but the truth is that it really isn’t. Matt picked up his first cigarette when he was 13. And nobody was there to stop him, or show him that it was wrong. One cigarette a day led to a pack a day. And a pack led to three packs. Smoking was the cause of his mother’s death, and it was the cause of his.
Everyday in the United States alone, approximately 3,000 kids under the age of 18 start smoking. Many times people will say that smoking is caused by peer pressure. And that does hold some truth. There are so many questions as to why Matt even took that first puff. He probably didn’t even know what the consequences would be. “If mom and dad do it, it can’t be harmful.”
Statistics show that parents are the biggest influence in their children’s lives. And even through many teenagers would like to disagree, they are wrong. Smoking addiction can be passed on from generation to generation. Research shows that a child’s odds of daily smoking are reduced by more than 70 percent when compared to when both parents continue to smoke. I believe that poor Matt was a victim of having that addiction passed on to him. And the sad truth is that his death could have been prevented if his parents would quit smoking. If both parents who were smokers quit, the odds that their child will start smoking would be reduced by nearly 40 percent. And even more research shows that mother who quit are less likely to have children who start smoking. Smoking in the household gives the "okay" to teens, so that they think that it really doesn't matter if they pick up a few cigarettes, because their parents do it.
What I have said in this mere essay may not seem to mean anything to you. You may not be a smoker, and you would swear that you never will. But there are households in your world, your next door neighbor, your friends, coworkers etc. who are suffering from having the act of smoking passed on from generation to generation. It is your duty now to act on what you know, and put an end to generational smoking. I'm sure that there are tons of families just like Matt's who need help. Parents, if you're listening, put your lighters down.


http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/teensmoking/a/teensmokefacts.htm “Parents: Quit smoking and your children are less likely to smoke”. Reuters 28 May 2008. 13 November 2008. <http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS244814+28-May-2008+PRN20080528>.