Who is responsible for tobacco woes?
You are

By Rikki McCormick
Poca High School

Everyone has seen the “truth” ads about tobacco. Do you pay attention to them? Do you realize that everything they say is the truth? You should, because it is the truth.

There is no way to sugarcoat it. Tobacco equals death, plain and simple. Death creeps up on tobacco users, making them think they’re cool and they won’t get sick. They are wrong. Tobacco will eventually give them problems they have never dreamed of. And death always wins in the end. Death will never take the blame or the responsibility.

So, let’s ask the big question: Whose fault is it? Is it the federal government’s fault because lawmakers didn’t pass a national law prohibiting the sale of tobacco? No, the nation has laws against marijuana, but people still get high, people still get addicted and people still die.

Is it the state’s fault because the Legislature won’t raise the taxes on tobacco? Or is it because police officers won’t enforce the laws that we do have to prohibit underage people from buying and using tobacco? No, there is a law against underage drinking and there are still keg parties and drunks running the roads. People still die.

How about the tobacco companies? Is it their fault because they produce and advertise tobacco? No, abortion is advertised as the “right choice for troubled women” and there are many organizations that support abortion. But in the end, mothers make the decisions and babies still die.

So, really, whose fault is it? It is the fault of individuals.

Individuals decide to be enticed by ads. Individuals decide to go to the supermarket and pay for tobacco. Individuals decide to put the chew in their cheek or the cigarette in their mouths. Individuals decide to keep their habits. Individuals decide to become addicted. Only individuals can decide to quit.

Let’s face it. Eventually, a tobacco habit will catch up with you. It will make you sick and weak, unable to do any of the things you once enjoyed. And only you hold the possibility to turn it around.

You can either use tobacco, or not — it’s up to you. It’s your responsibility.