Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed for March 01, 2023

Your body is poo-poo. LOL!!! As for the rest—It makes me sad. Tobacco addiction is seriously a terrible thing. It really has led to death in people I know, including one that was very strong-minded, but quit only for a while, several times, after cancer diagnoses. Others more or less had Steve’s attitude. Very significant strip.

Hubby’s uncle continued to smoke even after having a lung removed. Didn’t want to outlive his wife. He didn’t.

Hey, you’re poisoning each other with second-hand smoke!

I lost a longtime co-worker and friend to COPD. A heavy chain-smoker, he succumbed at age 56.

By the time your doc tells you you only have 6 months left, there is no sense quitting- The damage is done, and even if you went cold-turkey, you Might last an extra 2 weeks. And would quite likely be very unpleasant to be around for quite a lot of that time.

I had a coworker who, according to rumor, after he suffered a heart attack asked his doctor if he could continue smoking.

Just follow the Doctor’s example, Steve. You’ll be fine.

Rod Serling died of a heart attack at age 50. He was known to smoke around 4 packs a day

I smoked 3 to 4 packs of Lucky and Camels a day …pretty much , and I quit cold turkey in my early 20 ’ s I turned 80 last July and I’m sure that that would not have happened if I stayed with smoking that much : )

When I met my husband, he was a 2-pack-a-day smoker. He promised to cut down if I promised not to nag. He cut to less than 1 pack, but generally continued to smoke. When our 1st daughter was born, he stopped smoking in our home but would go out on the back porch to smoke (he tried the patch but was allergic to the adhesive). Soon after our second daughter was born he looked at the pack he had, threw it away…and that was it. Our second daughter turned 18 yesterday & he hasn’t had a ciggy since that fateful day.

I can remember as a child, sitting on the exam table in the doctor’s office while the doctor talked to my mom. He had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth just like this one. There were several ash trays in the exam room…

My wife quit cold turkey. I managed to quit with help from Nicorette gum.

I quit 17 years ago (but who’s counting?) after smoking for 30 years. I always said, “If I can do it, anyone can,” but I know that isn’t true. I just found the right path to quitting and it worked for me. I hope you can find the strength somewhere, because it is worth it my friends.

Physician, heal thyself

My father smoked a cigarette during his heart attack. He lived, and quit, but never quit being a miserable person.

Kind of like the TV show from the 1960s “Run For Your Life.” Also, how many medical doctors have an eye chart on their wall?

My mom was a two pack a day smoker until here early thirties when she quit. In her mid 80"s she started to develop balance and strength issues with her legs. After a whole series of tests the doctor told her that her body was full of cancer and that she had about 6 months to live. He said the cancer started in her lungs from smoking and spread. She said, “I stopped 50 yrs ago!” He told her, “The damage was already done.”

He told her of the therapies that were available Chemo, Radiation, but he said at this stage in the cancer they will only buy you a month or two and they are really up pleasant. She told him, “Nope, I’m done, it’s time to go home. No more treatments.” Four days later she was gone.

Smoking anything has life long impacts.

Leonard Nimoy smoked 2+ packs per day for 30 years. He stopped and 30 years later COPD got him. Stop smoking. Even better, don’t start.

Mark Twain is quoted as having said, “It’s easy to stop smoking. I’ve done it dozens of times.”

I quit cold turkey. Now I heat it up in the microwave.

“I will if you will, Doc.”

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“Say, we could hit up that new Strip Club tonight…”

And Steve says, “Say, Doc: I’ll quit if you will.”

My parents both smoked when I was a kid. My mom took years to quit. She would stop for a while and then relapse, rationalizing that she deserved a cigarette because she had been good for so long. My dad decided to quit one day, didn’t even tell anyone, and quit cold turkey.

You have to REALLY want to quit. And you only have to quit one cigarette to succeed quitting, that is the next one. I have avoided that next cigarette for 41 years.

Oh, and lose some weight. Like the Doctor.

Yo, Fat Doc! Your body is poo-poo, too! Unless you stop smoking (yeah, just like that; cold turkey; all at once; etc.), you, too, could be dead in six months….

I wonder how many activists pressured Breathed (or more likely, his syndicate) to do this one…

The funniest part of this comic is that the doctor is smoking as well!