DR. WALLACE: I am 17 and my problem is a guy — what else is new? My boyfriend and I have been dating on and off for over three years, but it seems like we always break up over some argument that I start. The last time we broke up it was about him smiling at other girls while he was out with me. He still took me to the senior prom, so he must have still liked me. I had fun, but we fought over small stuff. Then he went off to college, and I'm a senior in high school. I can now see that it was my fault that we had all these problems, but I also realize that I really do love him.

I wrote several letters to him at college, but he didn't answer any of them. Then one day he was in town and called me and we had lunch at a local restaurant. He asked me not to contact him again because he had no feelings for me and would not be seeing me again. He also told me he was dating a college girl and was very happy.

Dr. Wallace, I kind of think he still cares for me. My birthday party is coming up and I'd like to invite him, but I thought I should ask you for your opinion before I do. — Connie, Birmingham, Ala.

CONNIE: The party's over with this guy. Find someone else to be your boyfriend, and if you want to keep the new guy around for a while, don't make the same mistakes that you made with your college boy.

SMOKERS COMPLAIN OF BEING COLD

DR. WALLACE: My mom is a chain smoker. She smokes like a chimney — 2 or 3 packs of cigarettes a day. She sometimes even has forgotten that she had a lit one in the ashtray and then lights up another one. Besides smoking and filling the air with smoke, she is always turning up the heat because she says she feels cold. My dad and I are wondering if there might be some connection between feeling cold all the time and smoking? Can you tell us? — Tyler, Jackson, Miss.

TYLER: According to the American Cancer Society's brochure, "Kicking the Habit," a human body has 96,000 miles of blood vessels, which constrict with every puff of a cigarette, restricting a fresh supply of life-sustaining oxygenated blood from reaching the organs. This is why smokers frequently complain of being cold, especially in their hands and feet. Their extremities are not receiving sufficient oxygen. Smoking also lowers the skin temperature.

I'd recommend that you get Mom a copy of this free brochure. Call the nearest American Cancer Society office for details. The number is in the White Pages of your telephone directory.

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. E-mail him at rwallace@galesburg.net. 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.