Smoking...

...can kill you (and it frequently does). Everybody knows this, so why do so many people still smoke? In restaurants and bars, in buses and cars, smoke is ubiquitous and fills all our lungs. And it's not just for smokers: one hour of second-hand smoke is the equivalent of smoking four cigarettes.
   I've noticed that smokers are beginning to kid themselves too: they argue that filtered smoking (what they do) is healthier than second-hand [passive] smoking (what we do), so they're actually safer than us! Ha! Smokers get both types of smoke! Apart from the health cost, there's a literal cost too...
   What saddens me is that although smokers are dying, smoking is not dying. young people, especially women, apparently think it cool to be menthol-cool.
   King James I penned his 'Blast against tobacco' 400 years ago, but the world's still puffing and wheezing...