I used to smoke as a teenager, but I found it effortless to quit and never once considered smoking once I reached adulthood. At the same time my mother has tried to stop smoking countless times, and even now -- with COPD, requiring oxygen supplementation, and unable sometimes to make it up a short flight of stairs -- she still hasn't been able to quit despite trying many times. Weird how that works.

(Also weird: she hid her smoking from us, though obviously everyone knew she smoked. She always smoked holed up in her bathroom. I suppose I always knew where I could steal a few cigarettes!)