On July 1, I had the honour to lead the singing of “O Canada” at the Lieutenant Governor’s Garden Party at Government House in celebration of Canada Day. And here’s a video! Here I am …
My young-YA/middle-grade fantasy Fireboy, already a finalist for Best Young Adult Novel in this year’s Aurora Awards and finalist for a 2027 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award in the Northern Lights Division, has just been …
Had a great time being part of the cast of Regina Lyric Musical Theatre‘s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I played Fogg (the insane asylum keeper) and also sang in …
My young-YA/middle-grade fantasy Fireboy, a nominee for Best Young Adult Novel in this year’s Aurora Awards, is also a finalist for the 2027 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award in the Northern Lights Division. This is …
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m up for two Aurora Awards this year! Fireboy is on the ballot for Best Young Adult Novel, and The Worldshapers is once again on the ballot for Best Fan …
I spent a good chunk of today at Wordbridge, the annual writers’ conference in Lethbridge, Alberta. My main reason for coming was to launch a Shadowpaw Press title (Broken Realm by Jenna Greene, a Lethbridge …
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Another reason to never even try a cigarette:
Apparently inhaling a single cigarette can be enough to trigger nicotine addiction:
A new study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine shows that 10 percent of youth who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first inhaling from a cigarette, and 25 percent are addicted within a month. The study found that adolescents who smoke even just a few cigarettes per month suffer withdrawal symptoms when deprived of nicotine, a startling finding that is contrary to long-held beliefs that only people with established smoking habits of at least five cigarettes per day experience such symptoms.
The only time I tried a cigarette I was about seven years old, ca. 1966. A bunch of neighborhood kids in Tulia, Texas, had a cigarette. We stood in a circle and passed it around. By the time it came to me it was soggy and just about the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen. Afterward I couldn’t believe, even at that age, I was dumb enough to put it in my mouth. I learned something about peer pressure–and I also decided then and there smoking was a stupid, filthy habit. I’ve never been tempted since.
Permanent link to this article: https://edwardwillett.com/2007/07/another-reason-to-never-even-try-a-cigarette/