Past Reflections

Find past weekly reflections by date

October 25, 2009 - Smoking: Serious As A Heart Attack

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

A major report released last week from the Institute of Medicine said that the bans on smoking in restaurants, bars and other public spaces reduce the risk of heart attacks among non-smokers. So, the bans have proven not to hurt businesses but to help prevent heart attacks even in people who DON’T SMOKE. Actually in some places in the U.S. heart attack hospitalizations have dropped 41% in the three years since workplace smoking was banned. This is music to my ears because I’m one of those ardent anti-smoker crusaders. And since my mother, a smoker, died from lung cancer three years ago, I’m become even more strident. I’m totally intolerant of being subjected to someone else’s smoke, especially when I’m walking down the street behind someone whose exhale is making me smell like an ashtray. The entranceways of office buildings in New York have in fact become ashtrays as smokers huddle in the cold sucking on their cancer sticks. But to me it’s not only a health issue but a moral one as well. To knowingly hurt ones’ body, a temple of the Holy Spirit, is morally problematic. Is slow suicide any different from immediate suicide? And yes, I know we’re talking about a habit here. A difficult and insidious one. Some say it’s harder to give up than heroin. And I do have compassion for those trying to break the habit. I watched my mother struggle any number of times to give up her 55 year addiction. And each time she failed. But the moral obligation, seems to me, is to make the attempt. The repeated, concerted attempt until success is achieved before it’s too late. I’m happy we’re all having less heart attacks due to not being around people who smoke. But I remain concerned about the smokers still having the heart attacks. I see and hear all too clearly my mother’s last gasps for air. And that memory begs me to be the anti-smoking gadfly, even when it’s more comfortable to keep my mouth shut. I take is seriously, serious as a heart attack.

To watch Father Beck give the above Reflection, click here.