I was at an outdoor speaker meeting the other night where clouds of cigarette smoke filled the air.

As a non-smoker I'm very sensitive to smoke, even secondhand smoke. Although I sat on the perimeter of the crowd, tendrils of smoke reached out and enveloped me. I moved my chair a few times, but still the smoke was so distracting it was difficult to pay attention to the speaker.

As a former smoker who quit in 1984, I've become one of those who view smoking as a devastating habit. One reason I find it so offensive is many family members died early or suffered health problems from smoking. My mother died too young from emphysema. Her favorite sister relied on an oxygen tank her last ten years. Even though my aunt died in her 80s, the quality of her life was negatively impacted by COPD. My cousin died at 42 from COPD. My brother passed at 60, partially from the effects of smoking.

An interesting statistic is that while only 20% of the general population smokes, 80% of the recovery population lights up. I was at a recovery conference several years ago in Meadowlands, New Jersey, and learned the state of New Jersey didn't fund recovery programs that allow smoking. The state apparently believes smokers are practicing addicts.

While it's difficult to quit, it's worth the effort. Some reports say our lungs and bodies begin the recovery process within hours after we lay down cigarettes. If the recovery process begins so quickly then why quit now one may ask? But damage accrues with every puff. There comes a time when we do so much damage to our bodies we can't fully recover. I heard a statistic yesterday that smokers die 10 to 15 years earlier than the general population. While we've heard about the grandmother who smoked a pack a day at 100, I believe such tales are always the exception. An intelligent person builds their life on rules, rather than exceptions.

To me living sober means not being dependent upon any substance.