DR. WALLACE: My father has an old school mentality and does things his way, often ignoring logic that the rest of our family would prefer.

A few years ago, our whole family — most importantly, our mother — sat him down and pleaded with him to finally stop smoking. He had promised us years ago that he would give himself a birthday gift of quitting his nasty smoking habit. He's the kind of man who started smoking as a teenager back in his day and just lives each day like the one the day before, often with no consideration about the future. He did not stop when his very next birthday arrived, and we all voiced our disappointment.

Well, his birthday this year just came up, and due to all of us pressuring him for so long, he did finally throw away all his unsmoked cigarettes! We were shocked but beyond pleased. It's been a little over a week now and he has not smoked or purchased one more cigarette!

Then imagine my surprise when I came around the corner of our backyard this weekend and saw a puff of smoke drifting up from near our trash cans by the side fence. I snuck up slowly and peeked around the corner and saw my father vaping!

I was beyond shocked and have not yet said anything to anyone. He did quit smoking cigarettes as he promised, but the idea to quit was to improve his health, and from what I understand, vaping is quite unhealthy. Should I say anything to anyone, or just keep quiet about this new development? — I Was Shocked, via email

I WAS SHOCKED: I would speak to your mother about this first. Let her know what you saw and encourage her to call another family meeting, but implore her to not be accusatory in tone when addressing your father about this matter.

Instead, it would be best to speak in terms of your whole family's concern about your father's health. This was the issue when you all wanted him to stop smoking in the first place.

You can do your own research ahead of your next family meeting, but I can tell you that vaping may be just as bad or possibly even worse for his health than smoking cigarettes. Quitting smoking (and vaping) is quite difficult for those who have developed daily habits of doing so.

I suggest that your whole family encourages your father to kick these habits rather than scold him. Do your best to assist him and let him know just how much you want him to remain healthy for a long and happy life.

WE CAN'T AGREE ON WHICH PET TO GET

DR. WALLACE: I want a cat and my brother wants a dog, and our parents have said that we can only have one pet in our family. We are twins and we are 15 years old.

We have been promised that we can get a new pet over the Thanksgiving holiday week, so we have some time to debate what we are going to do. So far, neither one of us will budge at all. He really wants a dog, and I just feel like I have to have a cat.

Since I want a cat, can you provide me some good arguments that fall on the side of a cat over a dog? — I Prefer Cats, via email

I PREFER CATS: Cats are more independent than dogs, so they are a bit easier to care for. They don't need to be walked outside several times a day as they usually handle their own bathroom breaks themselves.

Dogs are also more likely to require more attention during the day even when they are not in need of a bathroom break.

Both these animals make excellent pets, so if your family goes with one of these two, you will likely have a nice new member of your family to enjoy. And if you are not able to decide on a dog or a cat, you and your brother may want to research all the other types of pets that exist. You might just choose one that you can compromise on more easily.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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