A message to youth about smoking

To the editor:

When I observed the smoking picture on the front page Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Mt. Pleasant News, I immediately felt I had to share some information with as many young people as possible.

Being far too adventurous for a teenager and in the midst of World War II, I received a job in a defense plant by stretching my age from 15 years to 16 years. I was so successful at this endeavor, that when I became 16, my records indicated I was 17 years old, and I enlisted in the Marine Corps.

Boot camp was great with a tremendous amount of exercise. I was treated wonderfully by fellow marines, no swearing was allowed, and church was offered every Sunday.

We received breaks every two hours during the day, which was normally used for smoking. I was the only one out of 42 people who didn't smoke.

Therefor, in order to enjoy smoking time with my comrades, I purchased a carton of Camel cigarettes. It took me a day, but by evening I had gotten over being sick and became a full club member of the smoking group.

As the years went by, I became a real smoking buddy with the doctor that delivered some of our children, and treated them like grandchildren, only to have him die of lung cancer a few short years after our relationship began. The list of friends I have lost due to smoking goes on from there.

After lying to myself over a hundred times about quitting the filthy habit, I came home one day about 40 years ago, sat in my chair, turned on the TV, and lit a cigarette. The first item on TV was a wonderful picture of a pink lung, describing how important this organ was to further life in a happy manner. The next picture was a smoker's lung and looked like it had been recovered from a grease pit.

That was the last time I ever smoked a cigarette. There is no substitution for pink lungs and clean air.

Robert Batey

Mt. Pleasant