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From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Editorials Section, 11/24/2008 SIMPLE PLEASURE NOT ONE During this economic crisis, Americans are looking for ways to cut corners. We are being forced to make some tough choices. I was standing in line at the grocery store listening to a patron complaining about the cost of produce and how hard it was to get ahead these days. I could not help but notice a carton of cigarettes in her basket. Being the tobacco advocate that I am, I stated that this would be a good time to consider quitting. She stated that these were life’s simple pleasures. I must admit that I, too, enjoy some of life’s simple pleasures, but not those that become life’s death sentence. Smoking “kills more people than murder, AIDS, drug abuse, alcohol, car crashes, fires and suicides combined,” according to the Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits. I get no pleasure in ingesting acetone, formaldehyde and countless other chemicals. The money spent on tobacco products annually could afford a family a mini vacation-what I consider a simple pleasure. Tobacco-related illnesses such as bronchitis, cancer, heart disease and strokes are pleasures that I can do without. JOYCE M. RAYNOR |