For me it was one thing to hear it, more of an abstract that would never happen, or would happen in some distant future. I switched up my career going from a cube with a PC to the back of an ambulance.

When I saw my first few smokers, took them in and really knew how bad they were thanks to knowing how to read into heart rhythms, heart rates, blood oxygen levels... literally every vital they had, I had to quit smoking. Physically when you see people dying from smoking related illnesses..., I can't imagine a worse way to go, and I've seen a lot of ways to go at this point.

The dying slowly day by day... gasping for air every breath, seeing someone struggle to walk concentrating on every breath, knowing that this had been their life for months, or even years.

Anyways smoking's bad, and paramedics aren't too thrilled with you for it. Contrary to popular belief, you can't just give a smoker oxygen till you've figured out how their lungs are screwed up. Their blood get's so used to processing CO2 that high levels of oxygen bringing them back up to normal levels can kick in a response by the brain to stop breathing... killing them. Or they'll pass out from the head rush from actually getting oxygen and cause you to panic.