Life is like a treasure.  It can be priceless or worthless depending on your point of view or perspective.  It can be a fool's gold: beautiful on the outside, but empty on the inside.   It also can be a dazzling, magnificent jewel is cherished forever.

If life is so precious and valuable, then why do people kill themselves?  Why do they destroy and damage their body, the holy temple, that God had built and made specifically for them?   Why do they shorten their life by twelve years through a cylindrical roll filled with tobacco known as cigarettes?   Why are they taking a "medicine" or relaxant that feeds them poison?  This addicting “medicine’ is filled with the most toxic and dangerous chemicals that would harm people, rather than saving them.  These deadly chemicals are none other than the highly addictive nicotine and other lethal substances.  Instead of healing, the "medicine" actually “decreases the life of the smokers by ten percent than non-smokers” (Medical News Today).   Over time, smoking does not only cause lung cancer and heart attacks, but other problems as well.  Smoking is not different  from committing suicide.  It is no different from aiming a loaded gun and shooting a metallic silver bullet into your head.  It is no different from opening a wound with a knife and letting the blood trickle down to your arm; nor saying a final goodbye as you plunge into the cold, deep, and icy water.  The only slight difference is that smoking kills you slowly over time.  Before you even realize, you just wasted twelve years when you went smoking. 
        

Why would someone waste twelve years of their life just because of a cigarette?  Wouldn't you rather spend those ten years, creating and cherishing special moments with your loved ones?  Wouldn't you want to find your own priceless treasure? Smoking is not only a hazard to smokers, but to others as well.  Secondhand smoking can be just as deadly as firsthand smoking.   Not only are you the one murdering yourself and your body, but you are also infecting non-smokers with your disease.   Who will understand that the drug does not only affect them, but also the people around them?  Do you really want to be responsible for almost suffocating your own mother who can barely breathe from inhaling in your smoky stench?  Oxygen is crucial and vital to our bodies, without it we cannot eat, breathe, or even live.  We need oxygen to stay alive; it is extremely important because it helps us survive.  One solution that would solve and prevent you from inflicting harm on others is to quit before it causes more damage to others and towards you.

It is a fight to survive, a battle to stay alive.   Quitting smoking is easier said than done.  It may seem difficult at first, but keep trying and never give up.  Remember, life is God's most precious gift to us.  It is your choice to see it as worthless or priceless.  Former First Lady of the United States from 1981-1989, Nancy Reagan encourages everyone, especially teens to enjoy life.  “To my young friends out there: Life can be great, but not when you can’t see it.  So, open your eyes to life: to see it in vivid colors that God gave us as a precious gift to His children , to enjoy life to the fullest, and to make it count.”

The decision is all up to you.  Will you live life to the fullest?  Will you be the one to realize that this "medicine" is really a drug?  Will you be the first to live instead of being the first to die? Next time you think about going for a smoke, think twice before you do.  Are you saving a life, or are you destroying one?