Smoking Parents

Before I get started, allow me to give you a background on my experience with smokers. I grew up in a house with smokers. Both my father and grandfather smoked, in the house! There was usually a half full (I'm an optimist) ashtray next to the tv remote. My brother took up smoking, while my father continues to smoke till this day. My grandfather started smoking during WWII, back when they were practically passing out cigarettes to military men. Back then, even cartoons smoked. Look it up, it'll blow your mind! After 50 years, he gave it up, cold turkey. A year later, he was diagnosed with emphysema, which he died of years later. Did I mention that my brother STILL smokes! Even after all this? My grandfather, I can't blame, that was before all the research and the stop smoking campaigns.
That being said, here's my view on smoking parents. I don't know if it's because I live in Las Vegas, the smoking capital of the world, but I see it everywhere. It's like smokers are drawn here. Since they can't smoke indoors at home, when they land here, they just fire up. This must be what it's like to see a pothead land in Amsterdam. This leads to the abnormally high amount of parents I see smoking around their kids. I've seen parents pushing a stroller while smoking. Yes, really, and not just once. I've seen it so much that I just stop keeping track. They do that "courteous" move where they tilt their head to the side and blow the smoke, meanwhile the wind just blows it right back into their kid's face! I've seen the trifecta, the Holy Grail of bad parenting. Years ago, I saw a woman, playing a slot machine, sipping a cocktail, and smoking a cigarette......... while pregnant! Not belly bump pregnant. I'm talking one jackpot away from her water breaking. This lady was about to pop! And the award for the worst parent ever goes to...... the lady who drove her kids into the lake, but this chick was a close second!
I'm not here to preach. I'm not here to give you a bunch of stats. Everyone knows that you can twist stats and no one wants to listen to someone on a soapbox. But, let's look at some simple facts and do a little math. Smoking is bad for you and those around you. It is expensive. You stink as a result of it. You annoy every non-smoker within breathing distance of you. With me so far? Now the math. If you smoke 1 pack of cigarettes a day, that's about a $4 a day habit. That's $112 a month. $1460 a year. This means that if you stopped smoking the day you have a baby, you would have saved $26,280 for college on his 18th birthday. That's without compounded interest or inflation. Do you think your kid could use $26,280 for college? I know I could have. It would have pretty much paid for my whole education (I went to a state school). That's a lot of money! Let's say it again, $26,280. Wooooow!

If you don't have any kids and want to smoke, go ahead. You really only hurt yourself and annoy those around you. But, if you do have kids, you need to take a moment and really evaluate what matters the most. I know it's a hard habit to kick, but your kids are worth it. They would much rather have you around AND a fat college fund in 18 years. I hope that I can reach at least one smoking parent and be their wake up call. If not, oh well, I'm just one voice.