The stigma is there. I understand the health risks. I know I am slowly killing myself.

“Damn I need to stop smoking these sticks.”

There is no reason I started and there is no reason why I continued.

From the first day, to the most recent trip to Loaf n’ Jug, there has simply been no reason.

What I find incredible is how much of an issue this is, excuse me, I need to cough for a second.

Maybe it is the buzz, maybe it is because I am a wayward child who likes defying social norms. For what reason, I may never know.

Look, newsflash, people still smoke cigarettes, and where it might be easy to blame advertisements and “big tobacco,” I think the blame is all our own.

Yes, advertisements use the latest and coolest scientific ways to trick us subconsciously. And yes, we all know about the robotic squirrels that track your everyday moves.

These are facts.

But let’s think about a brash idea here. We love indulging. We love the concept of “treat yourself.”

We live in a society that thinks it’s okay to have bacon for three meals a day. Sorry people it is not! Stop putting bacon in everything! I am getting sick and tired of it!

We love indulging in old TV shows. We are also the generation that demanded such classics as “Zoolander 2,” “Dumb and Dumber 2,” and hell, we kind of got another “Ghostbusters.” These all sucked by the way. Don’t lie to yourself.

We are the generation that grew up on “have it your way.”

As we come into power and finally kick our parents to the curb, we must also ask should we have it this way.

This is coming from a place of understanding folks. Hell, I have been known to have “treat yourself” weeks. I once spent $50 on a goldfish, which died three hours later. Did you know to get your money back from Walmart for a dead fish you need the body?

I digress though.

I think cigarettes, alcohol, pot and the other “bad drugs,” are not on their way out.

Frankly, we are dumb for thinking they ever will.

Yes, cigarettes are going away, but they will always have a base audience. There will always be someone waiting to be an addict.

Why change that? Why try to change a predisposition? Love is a strange thought. We love our friends, we love our family, we love them so much we try to change them to fit what we see as our perfect self.

We would like to think we have it all figured out. We know what is best, we know the path, we are the light. With our help, we can fix all the problems.

Frankly though, we don’t. We might never know the answers.

I hate smoking cigarettes. I know it is a bad, sick, disgusting habit. A story, I already know the end to.

Stop guilting your friends, for everyone fights an internal struggle. Focus on your own struggles and offer a helping hand.

Be a true friend. Self-discipline is truly the finest art. Practice it yourself and model yourself how you want to live. Invite others to join you, but don’t put your mold on your friends. Be an individual, and allow your friends to discipline themselves, even if they aren’t very good at it.