bad health consequences of quitting?

Persia works as a medical records assistant in a public hospital which has a vigorous non-smoking policy. She feels a bit guilty about pretending to be a non-smoker, but from what she sees of the drug habits and attitudes of everyone else she works with she believes she's better off than they are and less hypocritical, too.

"I could tell you things about doctors and nurses that would put you off seeing a doctor or coming to hospital," says Persia. "To start with, some of the immigrant medical staff have dodgy qualifications and most have a bad attitude towards us."

"The non-immigrant medical staff are overworked, consider themselves underpaid and can be very arrogant," says Persia. "But their real problem is drugs -- mainly alcohol -- but a lot of other stuff that the average person hasn't even heard of."

"The only thing all the medical staff have in common, really, is a hatred of smokers," sighs Persia. "Not a dislike of smokers and their habit, but a genuine hatred of them."

"It's really very scary to hear them go on about patients who smoke because one day my mom or dad -- or even I -- may have to come here for an operation and the first thing they ask you is not what's wrong with you but whether or not you smoke."

"Word has got around among smokers that if you want to be treated normally by medical staff you must lie about smoking," says Persia, "and it's become so bad now that a lot of patients who don't smoke -- especially those with respiratory troubles -- are accused of lying."

"If you're on death's door they're not going to argue with you," says Persia, "but if you're not then you're put on the bottom of the waiting list and told not to smoke (even if you never have)."

"What happens is that six months down the track -- or longer -- however long it takes to get to the top of the list, a lot of patients never even make it."

"Sure, this may be a reflection of an over-burdened health system," says Persia, "but it could also be a deliberate way to kill off smokers."

"If you're a patient with heart trouble and you're told you must stop smoking, drinking or doing other risky things for a certain length of time in order to be eligible for an operation," says Persia, "then imagine the stress on that person."

"Far more pressure is put on smokers than drinkers," says Persia. "I can't see how smoking is worse than drinking for any type of disease or operation, but that's the official guidelines the staff must follow and they really enjoy putting the boot into smokers."

"I honestly believe that most of the smokers who come back for their operation have totally disregarded what they were told," laughs Persia, "and good for them, I say, because had they put themselves through the stress of quitting, their chances of lasting out the waiting period are not good."

"The really old smokers, those in their 80s up, are very outspoken about enjoying a smoke and are given a bit of grudging respect -- after all, they've outlived the non-smokers," laughs Persia, "but if you're not old enough to have been a fighting man or woman in WWII you're literally forced to give up smoking if you want a simple operation."

"As I see it, there is a lot of information about the health hazards of smoking and absolutely no information at all about the health hazards of giving it up," says Persia. "Similarly, there's a lot of information about the benefits of giving it up, and absolutely no information about the benefits of smoking. Isn't this negligence?"

"Imagine a man in his 50s who's been smoking for about 40 years," says Persia. "His body is perfectly in tune with his habit and the shock of a sudden change can literally kill him."

"This is not just relevant for people needing an operation," says Persia. "It's for all smokers who try to quit for one reason or another."

"Withdrawal symptoms for any type of drug addiction can have dangerous consequences," says Persia. "Advising smokers to buy nicotine replacement and sending them home without adequate supervision is not particularly smart if you want to keep them alive."

"Detox is routinely offered to other drug addicts," says Persia, "but the health budget, amazingly, is not big enough to cover the cost of offering this life-saving luxury to smokers (even though their smoking tax dollars practically pay for the health costs of everyone else)."

"According to the medical staff where I work, smokers are extraneous rubbish -- not worth saving," sighs Persia, "and certainly not worth a follow up study to see how many ex-smokers are healthy and happy five years after quitting."

"From the records I've seen, I'd hazard a guess that a significant number of smokers who give up their habit are either seriously ill -- not necessarily with cancer or heart disease -- or dead within five years."

"For what other legal human activity is there a total ban in medical and scientific journals -- and the media -- on saying anything good about it?" asks Persia. "Even with the obvious terrible effects of alcohol there is hardly a day goes by without some research being done to show how good it is for us. Come on guys, smoking must have some therapeutic benefit. Why are you gagged from telling us about it?"

"When they say that smokers are a dying breed, they're not kidding," says Persia, "and as far as I can see they are doing as much as they can to speed us on our way by forcing us to quit."