Quit Smoking

Q. C'mon...Is it *REALLY* true that the Marlboro Man died from lung cancer? A. Well, not entirely. You see, there were actually several different Marlboro Men that died from cancer and also many other tobacco spokespersons who were permanently disabled as a result of tobacco usage.
Scroll down to see the partial list we've assembled...
1. David Millar Jr., the first Marlboro Man throughout the 1950's, died of complications from emphysema in 1987. 2. Wayne McLaren, another Marlboro Man died of lung cancer at the age of 51 in 1992. McLaren smoked a pack and a half a day and was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 49. Despite the removal of a lung and intense chemotherapy, the cancer spread to his brain and killed him.	The Marlboro Man
The Marlboro Man	3. David McLean, another actor who portrayed the Marlboro Man, died of lung cancer in 1995. McLean took up cigarette smoking at the age 12 and had a cancerous tumor removed from his right lung in 1993. Nevertheless, the cancer remained and continued to spread to his brain and spine.
4. Will Thornbury, the Camel model who would "walk a mile for a Camel", died of lung cancer at age of 56.
5. Dave Goerlitz -- Former "Winston Man" who used to smoke 3 1/2 packs a day, was disabled by a stroke. He lost all feeling in his left leg, the left side of his face, and all sense of taste. He was surprised during a photo session when he found out that none of the R.J. Reynolds executives attending were smokers. "Are you kidding?" one of the executives said. “We reserve that right for the poor, the young, the black, and the stupid.” He apologizes to young people for pushing what he calls "the deadliest drug of all". He says, "The image that I projected is nothing but a bunch of lies made up by executives and the tobacco industry."
Janet Sackman	6. Janet Sackman was a Lucky Strike girl in the 1950s and also appeared as Miss Chesterfield on the Perry Como television show. She admits today that she convinced a lot of young people to start smoking. She, herself, began to smoke at the age of 17 when a tobacco executive told her that an aspiring model like her should smoke. She has since lost her voice box and part of a lung to lung cancer. You will see more of Janet shortly.
7. Alan Landers--A former "Winston Man". After surviving two lung cancer tumors, reconstructive vocal cord surgery, and a double heart-bypass surgery, he has gone on to become an outspoken anti-tobacco advocate and critic of the tobacco industry. "I detest the tobacco people," he now says.	Alan Landers holding one of his former ads. Note the scars on his chest and throat from the numerous cancer removal surgeries.
Rory Calhoun	8. Rory Calhoun - Actor. Advertised Chesterfields in numerous television commercials. Died from emphysema. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
9. Popular radio and TV actor, Arthur Godfrey was formerly a spokesman for Chesterfield Cigarettes. His cause of death: Emphysema.	Arthur Godfrey
RJ Reynolds, Sr.	10. R.J. Reynolds, Sr., the founder of the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, died of pancreatic cancer in 1916 at the age of 67.
11. Susan Connelly-- Former Marlboro and Taryton Model Here is what she recently had to say: "As a young woman, I was a model and made lots of TV commercials, Marlboro for one and then Taryton. Remember the 'I would rather fight then switch' campaign? Well, I'm sorry I did not switch ... to a "non-smoker". I ended up with emphysema. I was diagnosed in 1991 and would not be here (today) if I had not had two "lung reduction" surgeries.	Susan Connelly
Today, I am a full time (fine arts) painter but I am on oxygen for 10-12 hours a day. My husband must load and unload my paintings for shows and I lead a very sedentary life, pacing myself so that my energy can go into the canvases I paint. My sister, a noted painter, died at 59 and my father at 61, so I have out-lived them both. They both died from emphysema. And they were both smokers. My younger brother gave up the cigarettes at 30 years old and he is fine, so whatever gene we were born with (or enzyme) is only activated with smoking. You die a little each day. However, there are times when you hasten it by catching a common cold, which quickly turns into pneumonia and you get to go to the hospital. In that case, you may speed up your death by several months or even a year or two. You might get to spend some time attached to the ventilator, a life support that does your breathing for you. As you die, your body may swell up from the medication and you will probably get cataracts in your eyes, blurring your vision until surgery corrects it. Also, your bones become brittle and you can break a bone even without falling. Your skin will age like something in a science fiction movie. The doctors call it Onion Skin. You may have to leave your home that you love because the altitude is too high for your disease. The disease is Emphysema and it is caused by smoking."