I thought I would share with all of you the reason why I finally quit smoking. Besides quitting for all the reasons mentioned on here, I quit because of a little mentioned fact. Smoking plays havoc with your eyesight. Besides making your eyesight worse, it is the major contribution to eye diseases.
Both my parents were diagnosed with Dreusden disease (dry eye) and Macular Degeneration. My mother who smoked some, is totally blind and has glucoma (she does not have diabetes). My Dad, who never smoked, but worked in an office where smoking was allowed, is almost blind. Just before I quit smoking I was diagnosed with both diseases. My chances of going blind are pretty much a sure bet. By quitting, I may have been fortunate enough to have delayed the process for a few of years. I watch my parents struggle with loosing their eyesight. My mother, an artist, can no longer create the beautiful paintings, her talent going to waste. My Dad, an engineering inventor, had to give up his work at an early age, again wasting his talent and our loss since he was a valuable inventor in the medical, and enviornmental fields.
I can only hope that those still smoking will realize that they are not only destroying their own eyesight, but that of others living with them. It's known now that Macular Degeneration will strike approximately 50% of people over 60....and there is no cure.
