Advice From Grandad Dear James, I have just returned from a long bike ride and now I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden. It seems amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometers. I’ll be 82 in two weeks’ time! I think my long and active life must be due to the healthy life I live. This brings me to the real reason for my letter, my dear grandson. Your mother tells me you started smoking some time ago and now you are finding it difficult to give it up. I know how easy it is to begin smoking and how tough it is to stop because during adolescence I also smoked and became addicted to cigarettes. Did you know that this is because you become addicted in three different ways? First, you can become physically addicted to nicotine, which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes. This means that after a while your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine in it. So when the drug leaves your body, you get withdrawal symptoms. I remember feeling bad-tempered and sometimes even in pain. Secondly, you become addicted through habit. If you do the same thing over and over again, you begin to do it automatically. Lastly, you can become mentally addicted. I believed I was happier and more relaxed after having a cigarette, so I began to think that I could only feel good when I smoked. I was addicted in all three ways, so it was very difficult to quit. But I did finally manage. Back then, I didn’t know much about the harmful effects of smoking. I didn’t know, for example, that it could do terrible damage to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to become pregnant. Neither did I know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers. However, what I did know was that my girlfriend said I smelt terrible and the ends of my fingers were turning yellow. I also noticed that I became breathless quickly, and that I wasn’t enjoying sport as much. When I was taken off the school football team, I knew it was time to quit smoking. I am sending you some advice. I hope it will help you to stop smoking and strengthen your resolve because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have. Love from Grandad