Dear Candy,

Don't smoke. I know what you're going to say. It's my life; you're not my mom. Well I know, but I really care about you. You're my best friend and you're throwing your life away. It really makes me sad to see someone I really care about ruining her life. Here are just three of many reasons not to smoke. 1. There are many diseases you could get from smoking. In other words, there are many chances of death that comes with smoking. 2. When you smoke, you stink, literally. Smoking makes you smell really bad from smoke. It also makes your clothes smell and everything else. 3. Your social life will be killed. No one will want to hang around you any more. I'll probably be your only friend. Don't smoke.

Did you know that over 400,000 people die a year from smoking? That gives you a pretty good chance of dying a few years from now. If you died, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You could get cancer too. Cancer is horrible. I know because my grandma had cancer. If you get it, you'll first have to have surgery which is life threatening itself. Then you'll have to have chemotherapy or radiation. Both of those will make your hair fall out. During and after one of those treatments you get really tired and look really bad. You can't do anything but lay around. Do you want smoking and cancer, or quit smoking and no cancer. The answer is pretty obvious to me. If you say, "I'll just smoke for a few years then quit, I'll be all right then, right?" then you're wrong. My grandma was a heavy smoker but then quit. About 10 years later she got lung cancer. 3 years later (a few months ago) my grandma died, smoking related. Please not only for your own sake, but for everyone's sake who cares about you. Don't smoke.

As if getting cancer isn't bad enough, you smell bad too. In my opinion, the smells from smoking are bad enough to quit from them alone. Smoking makes your clothes smell, your house smell, and even your breath smell. The smells from smoking make people want to get away from you. They don't want to be exposed to the poison you're putting in the air. Once, I was standing outside an airport with my mom. We were waiting for my dad to come and pick us up. Suddenly I smelled this terrible smell. Then I saw it was coming from this guy at least 50 feet away from me. It just made me want to get as far away from him as possible. Candy, do you want to be that person who every one wants to get away from? Please don't smoke.

Along with bad smells, smoking will kill your social life. It makes people want to get away from you not only because of the smells, but because of second hand smoke. Over 1,000 people die a year from second hand smoke. This means every time you smoke, you're helping to kill someone else besides your self. I wouldn't be able to live with that. Candy, think about this. No one will ever want to go on a date with you again. With the bad breath and smells, a guy wouldn't think of it!

Candy, I don't know how you started smoking, but I don't really care. All I care about is that your stop smoking. It really tears me up to see my best friend doing this. I don't want you to get any diseases, or smell bad, or not have any friends besides me. Candy, smoking ruins your life. Don't smoke.

Kathryn G.
Pequea, Pennsylvania