By Burl Barer –
Sept. 16, 2025 – Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, died in active addiction. Ignoring his doctor’s warnings, Bill continued consistent use of an addictive drug known, because of its delivery system, to cause the exact condition that claimed his life in 1971.
Bill W. died of emphysema and pneumonia, a direct result of his years chain smoking cigarettes loaded with nicotine, a highly addictive substance. It wasn’t the nicotine that killed him., but the delivery method: combustible tobacco smoke.
Considering all we know about the health dangers of smoking, why did Bill W. continue chain smoking himself to death? He certainly was advised by his doctor to give up his cigarettes, so why didn’t he use the method by which he quit drinking to also quit smoking?
