Thanks, Marion, and I do respect your choices. And it is true, by the way, statistically more likely that a smoker will be prone to things like crime and irresponsibility (I was a teacher in prison for years, so I kept up with such things). This seems to be connected directly with the fact that there is indeed a big correllation between those who smoke and those who are illiterate or live in homes that are dysfunctional anyway. I guess I'm just sticking up for a person's right to be weak sometimes. One thing I've learned from working with troubled (and, yes, criminal) children is that what looks like a choice to you and me may not look like one to somebody else. And not all people are so well-adjusted that they always do what's best for them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad. I have done many things in my life that were not good for me, mostly during times that were not so good. I feel that maybe I should have been strong enough to do the smart thing, but I wasn't always, and I know others have judged me on things that I think are unimportant, and I've suffered for that. Maybe that's why I'm good at teaching disadvantaged and often unwise young people, because I know what it feels like to be generalized out of people's lives, and I know when that's right and when that's wrong. We all have feet of clay; we are all full of germs; we all make mistakes. I think we owe tolerance and vigilance against double standards. I'll never be casting the first stone. (end of biblical images)

Chet