Tobacco = Death

[jfkraus]

If it's about protecting lives, consider this. It's tragic yes, but less than 4000 people have died in terrorist attacks in the past 8 years since 9/11 in the US. Look at all the money, effort and sacrifice(soldiers and freedoms) that we've dedicated for this "War of Terror."

Now, consider, in the US (according to the American Cancer Society) about 438,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses per year. Overall, cigarette smoking accounts for about 30% of cancer deaths. Of every 5 deaths in the US, 1 is caused from smoking. That's about 4 million people since 9/11. That's a holocaust.

Why are we not waging war on tobacco?

If it's about saving lives, our efforts are grossly misplaced!

[SteppingRazor]

1. I think current efforts are along the lines of what we should be doing.

Smoking has become more and more taboo societally, and that's the way to stamp it out. More-direct efforts -- say banning the sale and use of tobacco -- are definitely net negatives.

[Ferret Annica]

2. People don't like to be told they can't engage in risky behavior

The laws against cannabis for example - a substance that causes no cancer deaths - are failures. The piss tests meant to stamp out use of it, failures.

People are going to do what they want to do. People get stimulated by nicotine, and incorporate the effects of it into their daily routines.

Making tobacco illegal is not realistic, human nature would fight it vigorously. Doing what we are doing with maybe enhancements banning all marketing and impulse sales in stores is about the best one can do without making tobacco a needless martyr.

[Warpy]

3. Well, actually there has been a war on tobacco

but it's been fought pretty wisely instead of through the DEA. The latter has never worked as an approach.

Taxes have made tobacco less attractive by jacking the price up, although not high enough to encourage much of a black market. Restricting sales by getting rid of things like vending machines has reduced the number of stupid kids who get hooked in middle school. Lots of companies pay for smoking cessation plans for their employees. Restricting smoking indoors has also made it far less attractive.

This is the line the drug war should have taken. We need to keep the stuff away from kids, but adults should be able to kill themselves any way they choose. We need to generate enough revenue to take care of the people who run into trouble but not get greedy and encourage a black market.

Flat out prohibition never works on anything adults want to do in the way of sin. It just makes sinning more popular.

Making it inconvenient is a much better approach.

[virgogal]

4. The tax on cigs in Massachusetts works out to be 38% (Including federal)

Many MA smokers have made other arrangements for purchase.

[virgogal]

5. But on the bright side,the savings to Medicare must be huge.

The American Cancer Society considers anyone who ever smoked,and dies of cancer, a "smoking related death" even if the person is 85 years old and stopped smoking 40 years ago.

[jbnow]

6. Tobacco = Life also

Just saying the addictive part of tobacco, nicotine, has healing properties as well and society will also pay a cost without it.
The mechanisms of its neuroprotective qualities continue to be investigated
Perhaps it is the way it prevents overactivation of microglia but there is certainly an anti-inflammatory mechanism...
Anyway nicotine is good for the aging brain.
There are so many conditions it has a positive effect on. Retrospective studies on Parkinson's disease clarifies the more they smoked and the longer they smoked the lower the chance of getting the disease.
There are fewer and smaller studies but similar findings with ulcerative colitis.
Snus is an oral tobacco sold in Sweden...air cured, a different way than here, and very low in nitrosamines

Anyway snus has a similar finding with MS. The more and longer it is used the lower the chances of getting MS.

There are trials with nicotine (using the patch) showing improvement in many conditions including Tourette's syndrome, cognitive disorders and many brain related disorders.
Strangely there are certain forms of cancer for which it has protective effect. It reduces neurological pain which is quite difficult to treat.
It increases the formation of new blood vessels...good for some things, bad of course for others

I could provide links for anything (ask if you want them) but won't bother now, I'm not trying to change minds.

I could also get into the Calcium Phosphate-based Fertilizer that tobacco growers started using around 1940. Radioactive. Using Organic or Ammonium Phosphate-based fertilizer wouldn't produce that pesky polonium 210. This is particularly bad for tobacco since it clings to the sticky buds. I could also link the Phillip Morris document from almost 30 years ago that noted this issue but summarized it wasn't worth the additional cost.
Even more researchers have been looking at this since being shocked by that large marijuana study that showed no increased cancers and even a slightly protective effect.

I'd like to see Snus brought here as a form of quitting smoking and harm reduction. There are some American versions that call themselves snus but aren't made in that safer way nor do they measure and list the nitrosamines as they do in Sweden.

In joining European Union AND selling snus they had to provide much research about the impact on health. It does seem to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer (per one study) but other than that there are no health risks compared to non-smokers, not even in oral cancer. (American dip tobacco does i crease that risk)

We might like to just be rid of tobacco but in the meantime snus would not only be much better for those who used it to replace smoking...but it would be dramatically better for the rest of us and for children of the users. The savings in health care costs would be dramatic too.

So that's my story.
Had to tell it because tobacco gets a very bad rap and I'd like to see a push for Snus for public health reasons