Speak Out 1/9/09

Not an addiction

I READ the "Dear Abby" comment that you read frequently about smoking being an addiction. I smoked for well over 20 years and burned up two to three packs a day. I can tell you that smoking is not an addiction. Smoking is a mental attitude that people develop. People who say they can't quit say they're going to try to quit or they don't want to smoke. It's not because they make a mental resolution to quit. I made that kind of resolution, and I've talked to others who quit by doing the same thing. It's a matter of telling yourself you're going to do it, and addiction flies out the window. Calling it an addiction is a way of getting out of quitting. It's an excuse.

Out of the past

I ENJOY so much the "Out of the Past" section in the newspaper.

Mail service

THE U.S. Postal Service should consider changing the way it handles the mail. I mailed three boxes of Christmas cards and received messages from all over that the cards were destroyed. Some envelopes were delivered without a card in them. This type of service is unacceptable, and management should take time to check into this and take care of it.

Medical costs

I ALSO had the same procedure done four months apart, the first one at a hospital and the second one at an outpatient facility. Both doctors charged the same amount. The procedure done at the outpatient facility cost $800. The hospital charged $2,385, almost three times as much.