Why Do People Use Tobacco? Looking for Answers
I can give the FDA some hints as to why smokers continue smoking instead of quitting. When the government tells lies such as "tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable, premature death in the United States," they perpetuate smoking. What the smoker (and the rest of society as far as that goes) hears is "All tobacco use is equally harmful." But their statement is akin to claiming "In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in driving crashes caused by drinking beverages." Society knows that drinking beverages such as water, milk, soda, etc., does not cause these crashes. It is only the drinking of alcoholic beverages that impairs driving abilities.
But if the government were to run an enormous public information campaign implying that ALL beverages are causing fatalities, pretty soon people would be eating more oranges, watermelon, tomatoes and other foods that contain a high liquid content instead of drinking beverages.
Oh, that's right. Apparently they don't really give a rodent's posterior about helping smokers who would like to reduce their health risks to find a way to stop inhaling smoke. What they care about appears to be stopping kids from taking up any form of nicotine, and to force smokers off nicotine by applying a variety of "sticks" such as the following:
They are not bothering to ask what it is about using nicotine that consumers enjoy. They are not asking what things function as barriers to getting off nicotine. They are not bothering to find out the health effects on smokers that switch to smoke-free alternatives.
The number of youth smokers is inflated (which is how they justify putting all their attention on "the children.") The smoking rate has been stalled much longer than 8 years, when looked at as absolute numbers, instead of percent of the population. There were 43.8 million adult smokers in the U.S. in 1990, and by 2011, 21 years later, there were (wait for it....) 43.8 million adult smokers. Let's pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves on all the progress we made. (<- sarcasm.) The numbers went up as high as 47.2 million 1998, and as low as 43.4 million in 2007, but jumped back up to 46 million the following year, finally settling back to the 1990 figure in 2011.
The rest of the article goes back to the FDA patting itself on the back for all the actions the Agency has taken to reduce....
youth smoking initiation.
I can give the FDA some hints as to why smokers continue smoking instead of quitting. When the government tells lies such as "tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable, premature death in the United States," they perpetuate smoking. What the smoker (and the rest of society as far as that goes) hears is "All tobacco use is equally harmful." But their statement is akin to claiming "In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in driving crashes caused by drinking beverages." Society knows that drinking beverages such as water, milk, soda, etc., does not cause these crashes. It is only the drinking of alcoholic beverages that impairs driving abilities.
But if the government were to run an enormous public information campaign implying that ALL beverages are causing fatalities, pretty soon people would be eating more oranges, watermelon, tomatoes and other foods that contain a high liquid content instead of drinking beverages.
Well, they will certainly collect a lot of data, but they are not asking the right questions if the goal is to put a dent in the 43.8 million adult smokers statistic.
Oh, that's right. Apparently they don't really give a rodent's posterior about helping smokers who would like to reduce their health risks to find a way to stop inhaling smoke. What they care about appears to be stopping kids from taking up any form of nicotine, and to force smokers off nicotine by applying a variety of "sticks" such as the following:
- impoverishing smokers through sky-high taxes,
- treating any form of nicotine intake as if it were the same thing as smoking,
- banning those who use any form of nicotine from employment (even pharmaceutical products),
- and kicking them out of their residence if they are caught using any form of nicotine (except for pharmaceutical products) in their apartment, in the hallways and common areas, and even the great outdoors.
They are not bothering to ask what it is about using nicotine that consumers enjoy. They are not asking what things function as barriers to getting off nicotine. They are not bothering to find out the health effects on smokers that switch to smoke-free alternatives.
The number of youth smokers is inflated (which is how they justify putting all their attention on "the children.") The smoking rate has been stalled much longer than 8 years, when looked at as absolute numbers, instead of percent of the population. There were 43.8 million adult smokers in the U.S. in 1990, and by 2011, 21 years later, there were (wait for it....) 43.8 million adult smokers. Let's pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves on all the progress we made. (<- sarcasm.) The numbers went up as high as 47.2 million 1998, and as low as 43.4 million in 2007, but jumped back up to 46 million the following year, finally settling back to the 1990 figure in 2011.
The rest of the article goes back to the FDA patting itself on the back for all the actions the Agency has taken to reduce....
youth smoking initiation.
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