When one of my daughters decided she would start smoking at about 15, I caught her with a pack of cigarettes. I asked where she had bought them and she told me the name of a little neighborhood gas station/grocery store. I told her to get money out of her purse and bring it. I took her to that store, which was crowded, had her buy a pack of cigarettes from a man who asked no questions. After her purchase I asked him if he realized he had just broken the law. He said his boss allowed it-I had him get his boss on the phone, repeated the same question and informed him I had three more daughters at home, all underage and that the next time they came in to buy cigarettes they would have a plainclothes policeman with them. After repeating the same thing to the man who had sold them to her, we left the store to applause from all the other patrons. My daughter said she couldn't believe I had embarassed her like that--I informed her that I couldn't believe she had embarassed me by purchasing the cigarettes in the first place and that I would continue to embarass her if I caught her walking down the street smoking or smoking under any other circumstances. Today, she and her siblings do not smoke and neither do their children. I am sure there are some people who feel I should have handled it differently but it worked.

At 18, our kids are ready to be recruited to go war and kill, but they are still not allowed to have a drink at any bar.....

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Making you think twice......

I started smoking cigarettes when I was about 14, which was 42 years ago. At that time, no one mentioned that they were a bad habit, or were addicting. Since both of my parents smoked, and told me not to, the rebel in me came out and I started stealing their cigarettes (Pall Mall non filters!). I quit the damm things eventually. Now when I see a kid smoking, I almost come unglued, and I don't care who they are, they get The Lecture. I cannot believe that with everything that is now known, and admitted to, about the effects of tobacco, that kids would even consider smoking cigarettes, or merchants would even consider selling them to anyone without two forms of ID. I like the concept of tobacco being declared a drug and put under the supervision of the FDA.