Congratulations, graduates or soon-to-be graduates of high schools, colleges and universities. It’s all over and you are probably telling yourself: I’m not doing another lick of homework again!

Good.

Now get out your No. 2 pencil and Š

Just kidding.

We thought we would offer four items of advice to you as you enter the job market and begin the rest of your life:

1. Quit smoking.

OK, you say you don’t smoke. Sure you don’t. But you do when you are around friends and no one else is watching, and before you know it this habit is going to go from cool to crutch in no-time flat. So just quit smoking now and, if you really do not smoke, tell your friends to quit.

Get this: According to a neat Web site run by the University of California () the cigarette additive glycerol. It turns to acrolein when smoked. That irritates the respiratory system and interferes with the lungs. Most of all, it is a carcinogen.

And that’s just one of many harmful additives manufacturers put in the awful things.

Another is chocolate. It not only adds taste but when burned opens the airways so the smoke goes deeper into your lungs.

2. Get outside more.

Research shows that teenagers and young adults get to the great outdoors much less than previous generations. Don’t stay inside and play video games (&8220;vidiot&8221; is the term we’ve heard to describe people addicted to video games) all your life. Detach yourself from the Internet now and then. Grab the tent, go to a park, camp, canoe, bicycle, swim, hike and so forth. Take a walk in the rain sometime. Smell a wildflower. There’s a great planet out there full of marvel and wonder.

Your body will thank you later.

3. Read.

Hey, if you’re reading this, you must be one of the good ones. Too many children grow up in homes without newspapers or other reading material. Make sure you pass a healthy reading habit on to your kids.

4. Taste.

There is great joy in good food. In our hectic lives we settle for instant food at restaurants and in our kitchens. Go to good restaurants and make nice meals at homes from time to time.

Actually stop to savor the food, and don’t simply judge it as good or bad but try to identify what traits you like about it. When you think about it, one of the greatest joys of living is the enjoyment of the produce that comes from our abundant earth. Don’t take it for granted.