Do quitters really deserve our respect?

I remember long long ago, when I was still very young and innocent (I'm still young now ok), there a program on Channel 8. It was featuring this singer called Eric Moo and they were celebrating the fact that he managed to quit smoking after much hard work. So this entire program was about his experience and how proud he was to be able to quit blah, blah, blah... My dad was watching the show with me and he went, "Big deal! So what? I've never started!". At that time I was thinking that my dad was being such a spoiler and not being very supportive of this guy's success.

Now I realise that I actually agree with him. Why should we give praise and credit to people who smoked, drank, gambled, took drugs and finally managed to quit? It's not that I'm saying they went through a tough ordeal to quit. It's not that I'm saying the process was easy and they are making a mountain out of a molehill. I know that giving up cigarettes and drugs for someone who is hooked isn't easy. It might be the toughest thing that they have ever done in their lives. But for them to succumb to temptation in the first place, be it because of bad influence, peer pressure, desperation, stress or any other reason, doesn't it show that they chose the easy way out?

There are so many books and stories on TV shows like Oprah that feature people who went into rehab and come out clean. A Million Little Pieces is one good example which was given heaps of publicity but turned out to be more fiction than fact. I don't understand why the public would buy such a book and actually feel emotion for the author, especially if they are not drug users themselves. Shouldn't they be thinking to themselves that they can celebrate the fact that they have been clean all their lives? That they were mentally and morally strong enough to resist?

We all go through rough patches at some point of our lives. We all would have been given the opportunity and the temptation to try these things. But shouldn't the attention be given to those who have never given in and stayed true to themselves? Picking up a cigarette or popping a pill should not be condoned even in our darkest hour. Many films always feature the characters heading to a bar or lighting a cigarette whenever they are troubled. That is so wrong. It encourages the public to follow in their stead.

Social smokers are just as bad or even worse. I cannot comprehend why they would smoke just because they happen to be partying or in the company of fellow smokers. This hints to me that they want to fit in with the group and they have no self-esteem or respect for their own bodies. It's bad enough that people get hooked on to smoking so easily. The fact that these social smokers are saying that they are not like normal smokers because they can control themselves and not get addicted is such a hypocrisy. The fact that they can choose whether or not to smoke and they choose the former shows that they are complete idiots.

I salute everyone who have never gone down these paths. They are the ones who should be given our attention and respect, not those who have walked the path and turned back.