When Joe was in his mid-teens, his best friend started smoking. Because camels are pack animals, Joe quickly followed suit. In fact, Joe smoked so much that a tobacco company asked him to appear in cigarette ads. The company wanted to present Joe as a "smooth character" who attracted a herd of female camels.

The reality, of course, was quite different. As a childhood friend of Joe's remembered: "Joe had a tough time getting dates. He would try to act cool, but the girl camels laughed at him behind his back, and they used to talk about his bad breath. One said that after she went out with Joe, her hair and clothes smelled like cigarettes for a week."

Male camels liked Joe but felt sorry for him. According to one friend, "Joe would get picked last on team sports because he couldn't keep up with the rest of us. Camels are known for their endurance, but once Joe started smoking, he lost his stamina and coughed a lot."

As an adult, Joe's coughing grew worse. His friends worried that he had lung cancer, and they asked him to see a doctor. Unfortunately, Joe was in denial. He would say, "I'll quit smoking before it catches up with me."

A few times Joe did try to quit, but he always ended up smoking again. Then one of his lungs collapsed, and Joe was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Joe had surgery to remove the collapsed lung, and he is now undergoing chemotherapy. Needless to say, Joe isn't feeling very "smooth" these days. Most of his hair has fallen out, and he feels manipulated by the tobacco industry.