DR. WALLACE: My father made a promise to our family that he would quit smoking cigarettes by Thanksgiving of this year. He made this promise as part of our family's "group New Year's resolutions" that we all commit to each year.

Every member of our family has to make a resolution that will make them a better person and one that can also help our family as a group. For example, I vowed to study harder and more often so that I could get higher grades. So far, I've kept this promise.

My father has really struggled to quit his cigarettes over this year. He tried to quit "cold turkey" in April but that failed, and then in June he bought some special gum and patches to use. This helped him a bit, but he kept smoking his cigarettes. At least he was able to cut his daily volume down by the end of this past summer.

And just this last week he told us that he now believes he's smoked his last cigarette! We were all excited to hear this, but when the next weekend came, we were really surprised to see him out on our backyard patio puffing on a cigar! He told us that he promised to stop smoking cigarettes, not to quit smoking entirely!

At least he's being open about his plan and he told us that he will only smoke one cigar every Saturday and Sunday on our back patio for now. He hopes to quit entirely someday, but this is his current plan. Do you feel he tricked us? My little brother who is 14 feels my dad pulled a "bait and switch" scam on us! Do you think our father tricked us from the jump with his resolution? — We Want a Smoke-Free Father, via email

WE WANT A SMOKE-FREE FATHER: This is just my opinion, of course, since I have never met your father, but based upon your letter, I do not think he planned for things to turn out the way they currently are.

I feel he likely was quite sincere about quitting smoking overall, and he earnestly tried a few different methods to achieve that goal. However, once he failed a few times, he likely then made the adjustment to try to wean off of cigarettes by smoking two cigars a week.

I agree with you that having a smoke-free father would be the best long-term result. Hopefully he can stay off of the cigarettes and eventually cut out the cigars as well.

Perhaps you could encourage him soon to try to cut down to just one cigar per weekend. If he can accomplish this, it will put him on a quicker path to quit smoking entirely as soon as possible. Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things an individual can do and I commend him for committing to such a worthy goal. I suggest you encourage him and root for him and make no mention of "bait and switch," since I feel that type of talk would be counterproductive at this point.

I WOULD PREFER A DIFFERENT ELECTIVE CLASS

DR. WALLACE: My father encouraged me to take a physical education class at my high school. Even though it is considered an elective in our area, I would have preferred to have taken a different elective class in a subject I'm more interested in.

Don't you feel that P.E. classes are outdated these days? Everyone can run, walk, play "pickup" sports or lift weights on their own time. I think it's stupid and redundant to have to take a P. E. class in high school. Do you agree with me? — I Can't Stand P.E. Class, via email

I CAN'T STAND P.E. CLASS: I don't agree with you on this topic. Having a student enroll in a physical education class ensures physical activity for that student.

I of course do not know your personal level of fitness or how much physical exercise you get every week, but in general I feel it is a good idea for parents to have the option of having their children participate in physical education classes when applicable.

In this modern age of streaming videos, social media and video gaming, the "average" young person gets less physical exercise than previous generations did. This is likely the reason many parents opt to have their children "elect" to enroll in this class.

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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