You may know the cool looking Camel named "Joe" he is one of the cute adds that the tobacco nation has sprung on the world to attract people to the world of smoking.

There are dozens of brands from menthol to 100's.
Brands like Camels, Kools, Marboro, Salems, Dorals
and the no brand cheap-o's. Some carry a flavor.
But they all can cause cancer.

They yellow your teeth and finger nails. They corrupt your lungs and cause serious illness and
Respatory Issues.

Yet with the Surgon General of America placing a warning on every package sold. People still buy them. People still smoke them. Children included.

One of the strangest things about Foster Care that surprised me is that if a child smoked, the foster parent had to allow it. My home is a non smoking zone. My husband and I both do not smoke, drink or do drugs. It is our life choice. We made it.

It was very easy for me to make this choice because I spent the better part of my teenage years taking care of my mom who had lung cancer. She had quit smoking for over 20 years and then ended up being diagnosed with lung cancer. By the time she quit it was just to late. All the damage had been done to her body.

I watched my mom die of lung cancer. I heard her up coughing and spitting up blood every night for three years. I listened as she gasped for breath. I made the choice then to never smoke.

Helping kids kick the habit of smoking is important to me. I often tell little children if you don't start you never have to stop. Smoking is a nasty habit. However even with the high price tags of this item. People are still buying the products and people are still dying of cancer.

One good idea for helping teens to stop smoking is to buy a big bag of dumb dumb suckers. They still get the hand to mouth habit fulfilled but instead of smoking they are sucking on a sucker.

The medicated patches can help the nicotine need also.
Most doctors will prescribe them if a patient asks for help. There are over the counter aids like nicotine gum which can also help curve the desire and need for the nicotine in your body.

Whatever it takes..it is better to help your kids kick that habit as soon as possible. Your comments and ideas are welcome. How did you break the habit?