Like a Thief in the Night

I began to seriously smoke cigarettes at the age of 16. From there on out, my smoking increased until, by age 29e, I was smoking 2.5 packs a day. This took place back in the late 1970s, when smoking in one's office at work was not merely tolerated, but almost enforced. The university where I worked sponsored a "Quit Smoking Clinic" which I began to attend 2 days a week. Within 4 weeks I had quit smoking completely. The films our clinic members were shown emphasized complete recovery, that is, we were informed that once we'd quit for good, our lungs would begin to repair themselves until it was a if we'd never smoked.
This turned out not to be true.
I won't call it a deliberate lie, but looking back, it sure sounds like propaganda. Later that winter I came down with influenza which nearly took me to my grave. Upon my recovery (after 6 months) the damage smoking had done to my lungs had become exacerbated by the flu. I was left with asthma which plagues me to this day. Anything from dog dander to dry weather can and will set it off. I'm almost 73 years old in 2026, and am still aghast and fuming at the lies which have poured from the ACS's propaganda machine. Bitter? Hell yes. Feeling ripped off? Hell, yes. If I could afford to do so, I'd litigate the ACS into bankruptcy and possibly even criminal fraud.
Smoking causes asthma and many even worse diseases. GO TO YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN for help if you need to quit smoking. Don't rely on carcinogenic propaganda.