Smokers know the risks, thank you

Smokers take a lot of heat for their habit, as Mr. Marc McAfee demonstrated [in his Aug. 26 column, "Smokers need to escape grasp of addiction"]. 
Anyone who doesn't smoke will inevitably tell a smoker they're interacting with how bad it is for them and how it will kill them one day. With increased "quit-smoking" campaigning, the pursuit to "save" smokers has reached an evangelical fervor.
As a former Camel consumer, I can't count the number of times someone went out on a limb to inform me that cigarettes are harmful. I do, however, vividly recall lighting up immediately to accidently-on-purposely exhale in the direction of their head.
The fact is, if a person is able to buy a pack of cigarettes, then they are aware of the risks: highly poisonous, highly addictive, worse if second-hand, bad for babies, and of course, increased likeliness of lung and other respiratory cancer.
So, any attempt to enlighten a smoker is utterly futile, as the laws of human nature predict an equal and opposite reaction to such impromptu sermons.
Smokers have become ostracized to the point that they can't even walk outside - where they're supposed to be - and take one good drag without offending someone. They are followed from class to class by scoffs and coughs from the non-smokers walking behind them. 
When this happened to me, as it often did, I always thought to myself, "Wait, I'm the one with bad lungs here, shouldn't you be able to walk faster?"
Cigarette smoke may be annoying and inconsiderate, but so are people who talk unnecessarily loud in the MLC, distracting everyone nearby who is studying and adding to their stress, which has been linked as a risk factor to heart disease - the No. 1 killer in America - according to Richard N. Fogoros, M.D. at About.com.
After smoking a pack-and-a-half a day for almost four years, I finally quit cold turkey about a month ago. 
But a month isn't that long. How do I know it's for good? Because this time I was ready and I want to take care of my body. I don't miss the cigarette, but the amount of time I spent outside and the interesting people I met there.
Call me a realist, Mr. McAfee, but don't expect someone to quit smoking for you or anyone else, especially if the tactic utilized is remotely self-righteous or a guilt trip in disguise. 
They'll quit when they're good and ready, and they'll quit for themselves, and it will mean so much more to them that way. 
I've never met a smoker who sees cigarettes as a permanent part of their lives.