Just like these trees I am surrounded by smoke. January 19, 2013 my grandfather passed away. He had cancer for almost twenty years. I guess you could say we were pretty close. One girl acknowledged my pain and became my friend. She smoked. Around this time I became considered addicted. We smoked almost every day and still do. At first I was against it but later she and my cigarettes became my best friend. Now it's out of hand, it's been over a year and we need help. My problems that I was trying to avoid are growing. As I walk along streets and buildings I notice all the ashes and butts that besiege me. It's disappointing to me to ruin an Earth that was created for me to witness its glorious beauty knowing that I have helped destroy it.

It is a common belief among cigarette smokers that they are only hurting themselves. Smoking hurts and goes against many things and people. One of them being transcendentalism. Smoking related diseases claim over 393,000 American lives each year. Researchers estimate that 1.7 billion pounds butts accumulate in lakes and oceans and on beaches and the rest of the planet every year. Thoreau would be in uproar over these statistics, so should you. Trees are often compared to the lungs in our bodies because they perform basically the same functions our lungs do on a global scale. They filter out pollutants already it doesn't seem correct to add more that does not need to be added to our air.

Even if you don't smoke you can help people like me. For over 95 years the American Lung Association has been funding quality lung research with the intent to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. Along with that, there are many websites that you can refer to that help people quit. It includes online chat and many useful ways of quitting. As a friend of a smoker, you can always tell them what smoking is doing to them. Tell them that it would make you happy if you quit and prove to them that you truly care about their health. And then as you walk along the parks and beaches put on some gloves and pick up the butts that accumulate upon the ground. If you see a lit cigarette stomp it out. Help keep our forests alive.