Winston Man, RIP

Once I met this guy named Alan Landers. He told me never to start smoking, no matter how much I wanted to look like this:But since I was a girl, he changed it up to "never start smoking, even if you wanna be that hot sexy girl" like this:

Mr. Landers went on to say he started smoking at age 9 and became one of the few men to pose for cigarette ads for Winston. They paid him well, and he smoked cartons of cigarettes during photo shoots (for you non-smokers, a carton contains 200 cancer sticks) to get the picture just right. He went on to explain how addicted he became (2 1/2 packs a day). Eventually he ripped open his shirt to show his scar as a potent picture-a-listic reminder for kids to not start smoking.

Well, he just died on Friday from cancer. Cancer of the throat, lungs, and good old heart disease. He went from a poster-child for smoking to a poster-old man for quitting smoking. RIP.

Now, with that picture in your head, why do people keep smoking?

A good friend told me the other day her 6 year old son asked her to quit smoking. She said "Listen, do you know how stressed out and bitchy Mommy is now? If she quits, its going to be a lot worse." The little boy replied "Here Mommy, light up another one!"

If she doesn't fear lung cancer, neither will the people she's around who smoke. So maybe RJReynolds & Co. aren't the only ones to blame. Something to think about anyway....

Have a great Wednesday, join me on the back of the boat!