“One thing that we humans do very well is to defend ourselves psychologically, and our most potent weapon is denial.
But when confronted with a terminal disease, denial flies out of the window. We have to find another defense.”
If we are smokers, and lung or throat cancer is diagnosed, denial is replaced with a sense of shame and/or guilt…For many, smoking after being told that they have a life-threatening illness is their way of saying: “I did it my way, I don’t regret it, and I am still in control.”
Professor Robert West – Director of tobacco studies at Cancer Research UK
Leave a Reply