Tuesday 13 March 2007

Trudi's Story

Not long ago, I got on a train and noticed a man smoking a cigarette even though smoking is clearly prohibited on trains in the UK. Not wanting to inhale his noxious fumes, I walked down the aisle and moved into another carriage. Smoking, active or passive, isn't for me.

But many people continue to smoke even when they know they are risking their health. I wonder whether they would be moved by Trudi Endersby's story, which I read in a recent news article.

Aged 43, Trudi is dying from lung cancer and will be leaving behind two daughters aged 20 and 11. The older daughter, Kirsti, is a former smoker (well done, Kirsti!) and she says nothing is more difficult than planning Trudi's funeral and preparing her little sister for their mother's impending death.

I am impressed by the family's willingness to share their pain with the public in a TV anti-smoking campaign, with the hope that doing so may encourage some smokers to quit. I've known people who refused to stop smoking despite losing a family member to smoking-related cancer. Now that to me is incomprehensible, to say the least. I hope that Trudi's story inspires some smokers to make a life-changing decision.

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