If you take a look at my three step introduction to healthy life extension, you'll see that step one goes something like this:

Are you damaging yourself, perhaps more than you realize? Do you smoke? Do recreational drugs occupy a central position in your life? Do you eat nothing but junk food or are overweight? Do you exercise little or not at all? Do you have a poor relationship with your physician, or haven't seen a doctor in years? If so, you have a clear starting point. Any of these things can hurt you far more than currently available healthy life extension techniques can compensate for. There is little point in insulating the windows if the door is jammed open.

Find a physician you can trust and talk to about improving your health. You might be surprised at how easy, low-cost, and downright pleasant it is to lead a healthier - and thereby longer - life.

I am continually suprised by the number of people in the world who choose to run their bodies into the ground while simultaneously professing to desire a longer, healthier life. Smokers on a health kick are the culprits I have in mind for the moment, but they are by no means the only ones.

The grand vision I entertain for my own personal future is really nothing more than a "first things first" philosophy writ large. I'm an advocate for serious anti-aging research because aging and age-related limits to health and life are the biggest, most challenging, most serious obstacles to the path ahead. Once that is out of the way, then I have much more time to work on other matters.

Keeping a "first things first" philosophy is not a bad idea when we look at our own health: if you really want to live healthily for longer, then quit smoking. It may not be easy, but nothing else you're trying will make much difference while you're still poisoning yourself with tobacco. The same goes for the rest of you with damaging habits or poor health practices. Invest a little time and effort in yourself.