I think Peggy said things so well.
I also want to add that I think it is easy for prickles to come up with this topic because when people here, "Smoking causes cancer," it really sounds overly simplistic.
Surely we all know that smoking can contribute to people having cancer, but so can genetics, environmental hazards, diet (we don't hear people harping on that one much do we? and that could go across the board with lots of different types of cancer). So when I read a statement like, "Smoking causes cancer" in the context of my Mom or others that I care about dealing with what they are, my knee jerk reaction is to be stung by what I perceive to be a blanket statement which implies blame.
Did my Mom's smoking contribute to her having cancer? Maybe. So did her genes (her family seems to have a predisposition to cancers and lung problems in general). Who knows? Maybe the estrogen she was prescribed to take by doctors and on for years and years made her risk level greater as well.
When people get sick we want to look for something to blame. When it's us, it is crippling to think that we are to blame. For outsiders (and I don't mean you las, I mean outside outsiders) it is easy to say, "They smoked so they have cancer." I think it makes it less scary. It's a way to compartmentalize and to keep things at a distance so they don't have to think of it happening to them.
Anyway... just some thoughts I had rattling around. I hope you'll stick around Las. This is a great place for support. And we're all angry at something or other.