Politicians, Smoking and Loving Yourself Enough to Quit

A recent report from the Chicago Sun Times describes newly selected House Speaker John Boehner as a heavy smoker. Obama is known to indulge in the habit. Why are all these politicians smoking in spite of the health hazards and clear warnings from the federal agencies? The better question might be why do we care if they smoke?

We care because when a political leader is found to be in violation of the law, or violation of a social principle, such as smoking or infidelity, we lose faith in their ability to lead. If they choose to make a bad decision personally, most of us would question their ability to make decisions on behalf of taxpayers publicly.

But this shows just how addictive smoking can be. We hear that these politicians are trying to quit, but we’re not seeing any evidence of it. Wouldn’t it be nice if they would join in a public stop smoking campaign where we can see their successes and struggles in trying to quit? Wouldn’t that inspire the rest of us to make good decisions in or own lives and drop the habit as well?

Make a date with yourself to quit smoking. Let’s make February 14th the national “I Love Myself Enough to Quit” smoking date. Sure there are other dates to quit, but this one is different. This date says you love yourself enough to stop smoking. Set a goal, and share it with your political leaders, that you finally love yourself enough to quit.