What’s Obama’s smoking have to do with...

December 8, 8:29 PM
by Jerilyn Dufresne, Chicago Mental Health Examiner

Not much. Except smoking is addictive. And like other addictions, it can control our lives. I quit a two-pack-a-day habit more than 25 years ago, and can totally empathize with what President-Elect Obama is going through.

For one thing, he will be asked about it constantly. “Have you quit yet?” And if someone “catches” him smoking, the inevitable, “Oh, I thought you quit.”

Like many people I substituted a new addiction for the old one—I began running, thus not gaining any weight with the cessation of the smoking habit. (Of course, that fell by the wayside 20 years ago, just look at my picture.)

My son and daughter-in-law just enabled my latest addiction by giving me a Wii for an early Christmas present. Man, I love that thing, and can play games for hours. It’s a wonderful diversion, especially for someone who lives alone.

But I also see the downside. It’s another addiction I’ll have to overcome.

Like chocolate and Cheetos, like fantasy football and computers, like grandchildren and Kevin Kline movies, I’m going to have to shoot for moderation.

Unfortunately, smoking is different. There’s no such thing as a safe level of involvement. I think it will be hard for Obama to quit, but the good thing is…the White House is a total non-smoking zone. Can you just picture the president sneaking out to the garage for a quick cigarette?

Good luck, Mr. President-Elect. I’ll be thinking positive thoughts for you, and hope you’ll do the same for my Wii addiction. Thanks.

Just take it one gigantic, earth-shattering crisis at a time.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-1906-Chicago-Mental-Health-Examiner~y2008m12d8-Whats-Obamas-smoking-have-to-do-with-mental-health

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.