examples FAQ gifts guarantee home links order pricing

. More information .

A Gift of Poetry. The unique gift for every occasion

Your words, your thoughts and feelings. Captured within a gift, A Gift of Poetry. Presented in a uniquely designed, boxed, hand-made card, with your verse of choice as a key emotional focal point. Truly, a 'once-in-a-lifetime' gift, a gift that inspires the heart and touches the soul.

HOW TO ORDER

Ordering and

payment can

also be arranged

by telephone

Frequently

Asked

Questions

Please

click here

for more

information..

..or please

click here

to order

Inspirational poems about (quitting) smoking

Puffing Billy

I've got a little message,
to the bloke who wants to smoke;
there is no other way of putting it,
you are simply just a joke.

You see I've packed up again,
How many times over the years?
But then you have "just the one",
the addict magically appears.

I can't see why you do it,
I know your breath gets bad,
and your diminishing sex life,
is a wish I've never had.

I know it clouds your thinking,
and literally fogs your brain,
a general lack of motivation,
and are you going insane?

I can't believe the money,
a squillion quid every day,
it really is stupidity,
to just throw it all away.

You don't do any writing,
not even a line or two,
but when I'm off the cigs,
the couplets come rhyming through.

I love a morning walk,
a time to straighten out the head,
but when you're a Puffing Billy,
you can't even get out of bed.

Your children are watching too,
and will see with adoring eyes,
and do you want them smoking?
Their future in your hand lies.

Then there are the chest pains,
and that lovely earthy coughing,
let that be a reminder to you,
of the one you'll be carried off in!

Now the food tastes great,
and the wine is truly fine,
so don't you be so stupid,
please heed this warning rhyme.

And when the urge is upon you,
recite this piece of prose,
but please please please,
smack that addict on the nose!

www.agiftofpoetry.com

Smoking

My brother proudly told me yesterday that he had decided to stop smoking, this was after 40 years of continued puffing. I am pleased to report that I am now a non smoker. This article is dedicated to him and I hope that he has the luck and determination to quit (and for good). My problem was that I found it relatively easy to quit, I'd done so hundreds of times. I was a living testament to that old joke, because I did generally start again after 2-4 weeks and it was usually when I had a drink in my other hand. I knew it is bad for me, I knew that my health would suffer and I knew about the other 20 reasons why I shouldn't smoke, yet I did. Why is this so? Because nicotine is a cruel, addictive and horrible drug (and I was weak). Sadly, the tobacco companies knew this before I was born but chose to keep that research buried and hidden from public view. I blame them for my addiction.

My other excuse is that I fell victim to the relentless advertising of the early seventies. Having grown up on a not so healthy crop of films where all the heroes had a cigarette hanging out of their mouths, I remember clearly the massive poster near my school advertising a packet of Rothmans. Smoke these and fly a plane. Smoke these and be cool. Smoke these and get women. You know, you've seen them. In a sort of macabre way I think it is quite fitting that the guy who did the Marlboro adverts ended up dying of lung cancer. However, I hope his soul has managed to find some peace.

Sadly, this advertising onslaught is still going on today. To be honest, I think the movie makers should be ashamed of themselves, they know that most of their customers are teenagers, yet they still make sure that the leading actors still have a fag hanging out of their mouths (why don't they have yellow teeth?). Why was Will Smith smoking a cigar in a spaceship in Independence Day? This "product placement" is paid for by the tobacco companies and without these additional funds our stars would only be able to get $15m a movie and not $25m. Michael Moore reckons the reason you can still take lighters and matches on flights in America is because of the tobacco lobby. Don't underestimate the power of this industry. It is worth billions to the corporations and governments alike. In the UK, tobacco tax is over 3% of all taxes collected. I find it very scary that governments actually HAVE a financial incentive for you and I to smoke. Scary.

Anyway, I quit last year and I know my brother is also going to have a go. Why don't you join us?

Two Sense Worth

We need to accept that tobacco and nicotine are evil killers. If we did that then why don't we?

Ensure that ALL taxes received from smoking are spent in anti-smoking education and rehabilitation. This way governments would have no incentive to make sure that the tobacco industry thrives. I appreciate that this may mean that other taxes have to rise (but smoker's misery shouldn't have to pay for anything else).
Increase taxes on cigarettes (subject to 1.). Numerous studies have shown that the more expensive smoking gets, the more people quit.
Make all tobacco advertising, in ANY shape or form, illegal.
Ban all smoking in public places.
Make tobacco companies pay $1m(?) to every victim of smoking related illness and thereby put them out of business.

Facts and Figures

1. A study on passive smoking has found children who are exposed to tobacco smoke every day are three-and-a-half times more likely to develop lung cancer than children who are not exposed. Source: British Medical Journal

2. More than 80% of smokers take up the habit as teenagers. Source: www.ash.org.uk

3. Every year, around 114,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit. Source: www.ash.org.uk

4. About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit. Source: www.ash.org.uk

Q. For every £1 received from tobacco duty, how much did the UK government spend on anti-smoking education and other measures to help people stop smoking?

A. Less than 1p

The UK government earned £8,093 million in revenue from tobacco duty excluding VAT in the financial year 2003-04. The Government currently spends around £30m on anti-smoking education campaigns. A further £41m is spent on measures to help people stop smoking. Source: www.ash.org.uk

About Allen Jesson

Allen is a full time poet and his web-site: A Gift of Poetry (www.agiftofpoetry.com) is one of the top 250,000 sites in the world. Allen has written over 3,000 poems for people from all walks of life. He is apolitical, has no hidden agenda and does not follow any particular creed or religion.

Addiction Help