Smoking. The cool way to die.

*WARNING*

This blog entry is on a serious and probably depressing topic.  Please only post constructive comments (if any) and site the source the of the information provided.  These should be reputable sites that have been published less than 5 years ago. This is the standard for university and research papers so I think it should apply here.  Remember, this is my turf so don't post any crap or try trolling because I will kick your ass.  Also, if you are easily offended by facts and figures that go against your opinion, maybe you should give this one a miss.  

Ps. don't hate me.

One thing my close friends know about me is that I am a big anti-smoking person.  Smoking to me is my crusade.  As a soon to be nurse I have witnessed many people not only harmed and some killed by their smoking habit but also those who have been exposed to tobacco smoke through no choice of their own.  Not only that but I have been witness to the harm tobacco smoke can cause, personally.  My Grandfather on my mother's side died from complications due to cancer caused by smoking.  My mum smokes and I can definitely say she is less well because of it.  And lastly, I have found that I have more trouble than most people when it comes to getting over chest infections and the like from what I believe was caused by many years of passive smoking. 

For some background information for those not up to date with current events in Australia, the Queensland Government is introducing plain packaging to cigarettes in an attempt to reduce the number of smokers and/or the amount people smoke.  There have been several studies conducted that all found that plain packaging reduced the number of adolescents who start smoking ( Germain, Wakefield & Durkin, 2010; Hammond, Dockrell, Arnott, Lee & McNeill, 2009; Wakefield, Germain & Durkin, 2008).  To me that is why it is important that this goes ahead.  We are talking about stopping young and impressionable adolescents from starting a habit that could ruin their lives by reducing the appeal, not banning them or taking away their freedom.

7 Things You Should Know About Cigarettes & Smoking Before You Tell Me I am Wrong/Stupid

1. I have more chance dying in a car accident than dying from smoking.

If this is part of your argument then you will be interested to know I have done some research. And you are full of crap.  In 1998 it was recorded by the ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] that 19 000 deaths that year were due to tobacco smoking but in 2009 only 1 464 deaths were due to road crashes (ABS, 2011; Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure & Transport, 2009).  With 2.3 million people estimated to have been smoking in that year, that gives smokers a 1 in 122 chance of dying from a smoking related disease every year.  Conversely, a motorist (be it a driver or passenger) has a 1 in 15 000 chance of being killed on the road. PLUS if you smoke and drive then you are just making your chances of getting to the pearly gates this year even higher.  

VERDICT: ARGUMENT INVALID.

2. Cigarettes are just as bad for you as drinking or fast food.

Yes, alcohol has many detrimental effects.  However it should be noted that there are safe levels for alcohol to be consumed where it is actually beneficial.  Tobacco, on the other hand is carcinogenic and the use of any tobacco product is not recommended as their are no known health benefits that outweigh the significant risks.  Most food in now required by law to display the nutritional content of the food they are selling to allow consumers the chance to make an informed decision.  I see the warning labels on cigarettes to be that equal.  

New warnings are proposed to be implemented for alcoholic drinks, so don't think smokes are the only ones being targeted.  As a friend of mine (who I will name Deep Throat to protect his identity) said 'Beer and fast food companies have their own regulations - which they meet rather than consistently wield their influence, power and might to avoid' - I happen to agree with this wholeheartedly. Those tobacco companies are shifty buggers.

VERDICT: Maybe, but smoking cigarettes around other people is worse than eating and drinking around them.

3. I'm not hurting anyone.

This one may be true. I guess it depends who you ask.  As someone who has been exposed to 16 years of passive smoking I beg to differ.  This information was obtained from the ABS website:

• The breathing in of tobacco smoke by non-smokers can lead to harmful health effects in the unborn child, and middle ear infections and bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and other chest conditions in children. It is also linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In adults, passive smoking can increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and other chronic lung diseases (Queensland Health 2006).
• More than a third (37%) of children aged 0-14 years live in households with one or more regular smokers, while 10% of children 0-14 years live in households where there is at least one regular smoker who smokes indoors.

If you smoke alone or only with other smokers then I guess this statement is true for you.  However, the amount of people I see smoking with their kids/grand kids (my Mum included) is enough to make me think that most smokers couldn't truthfully say they aren't hurting anyone.  I remember sitting on the back stairs with my mum as a kid and never thinking anything of it, even though she would be smoking.  Smoking in the car with kids in now against the law AND THANK GOD FOR THAT.  So next time you light up think about who you may be hurting.  I have a study at home that also claims that the smoke residue on clothes can be enough to harm young children... I will tell you one thing. Passive drinking and passive fast food are yet to give anyone cancer.

VERDICT: Only true if you aren't being a douche.

4.  Mobile phones are linked with cancer, why are they not being targeted?

Several studies have noted that although there has been an explosive increase in mobile phone use in the last 30 years there have been very little changes to the rates of brain cancers over this period (Inskip, Hoover & Devesa, 2010).  This would suggest that mobile phones are not likely to cause brain cancers.  It is recommended that children limit their use of mobile phones due to their developing brains being sensitive to even low levels of toxins (Inskip et al., 2010). No big deal, we don't let kids smoke or drink (or at least you shouldn't be) so it shouldn't be that hard to pry a mobile phone out of their little chubby hands. Besides, smoking does more than give you and the passive smokers cancer, emphysema and COPD aren't that pleasant either...

VERDICT: Stop trying to pass the buck.

5. Australia is turning into Nazi Germany.

Really? When we start killing millions of Jews or castrating dyslexics get back to me.  You are seriously comparing the holocaust with implementing plain packaging smokes?  Just in case you didn't realise they aren't making cigarettes illegal, they aren't putting up the price and they sure as hell aren't saying you can't buy them.  If you want to smoke and having plain packaging is ruining your enjoyment or your will to buy them, then maybe you should question your motivation behind smoking... 

VERDICT: Ummm... Do I even need to say anything? This one is sensationalism at its best.

6. Fast food companies should be taxed if tobacco products are being taxed!!

This seems a little petty to me.  If the Government taxed everything that had a detrimental effect we would be taxed to the eyeballs.  The fact of the matter is I can eat McDonald's and decide to eat only a cheese burger every day.  If I exercised and ate right otherwise I doubt it would have any impact on my body. Cigarettes, however, are different.  I am still receiving nutrition from my cheese burger but smokes do not donate anything useful to the body.  In addition to that the chance of me getting cancer from smoking increase with every cigarette I smoke, not matter what my diet and exercise routine are like.  At fast food places I have the choice to make healthier decisions regarding my selections.  The only healthier option for cigarettes is LESS OR NONE.

VERDICT: A pack of cigarettes a week does not equal a week of cheeseburgers.

7.  The tobacco companies will sue and then who will pay for the plain packaging?

I was going to type this bit up myself but my friend, Deep Throat, puts it so much more elegantly...:

'It would be ridiculous for an industry to argue loss of revenue about a government sanction on their packaging, when their entire BUSINESS MODEL is all about killing off their own consumer group. Loss of revenue is the ends to their addictive and deadly means. If they want to keep their revenue intact (or indeed GROW their consumer base, rather than poisoning them to death), then they should try selling perfumesticks or chocolatesticks or viagrasticks.'

VERDICT: I would support a company who sold chocolate sticks.

To finish my piece I would like to say that no one asked me if I wanted to smoke for all those years I was exposed to passive smoking.  I think if more people were concerned about the kids and innocent bystanders in this debate of smoking then their point of view may change.  It's sad to think that my sister or myself may get cancer or a smoking related disease just from being in the same car as a smoker for all those years.  Vote for plain packaging and common goddamn sense.

References:

Australian Bureau of Statistics, various articles.

Australian Government: Department of Infrastructure and Transport. (2009).  Road deaths Australia, 2008 statistical summary.  Canberra: Australian Government.  Retrieved from www.infrastructure.gov.au/

 

Germain, D., Wakefield, M., & Durkin, S. (2010). Adolescents' perceptions of cigarette brand image: does plain packaging make a difference?. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(4), 385-392. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.009

Hammond, D., Dockrell, M., Arnott, D., Lee, A., & McNeill, A. (2009). Cigarette pack design and perceptions of risk among UK adults and youth. European Journal of Public Health, 19(6), 631-637. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckp122

Inskip, P., Hoover, R., & Devesa, S. (2010). Brain cancer incidence trends in relation to cellular telephone use in the United States. Neuro-Oncology, 12(11), 1147-1151. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Wakefield, M., Germain, D., & Durkin, S. (2008). How does increasingly plainer cigarette packaging influence adult smokers' perceptions about brand image? An experimental study. Tobacco Control, 17(6), 416-421. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.