Be careful what you wish for. ....
Sage words indeed. I used to smoke. I could have given up driving fast cars, drinking alcohol, flying gliders, etc. instead. They all risk damaging either me and/or the environment depending on who you believe. Right now I can honestly say I don't miss smoking at all. If it had been one of the others, I know I would be pining for it big time, so, from that respect, smoking was a waste of money and an unnecessary health risk
for me.
However, back to being careful what you wish for. All of the above are under threat from the increasingly prescriptive state in which we live, not to mention many other people's pastimes. Ask anyone who used to enjoy hand gun ownership, or hunting with dogs. I try (and don't always succeed) to respect the path others have chosen to take through life, even if it's not my cup of tea. You never know who'll be next up against the wall.
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Kevin