Debunking common misconceptions is a popular pastime. Someone says something, it sounds logical, others repeat it, it becomes a meme, and before you know it, everyone believes it. But just because “everyone believes it” does not make it true. Impression may be reality, but reality is not necessarily fact. This brings us to the ongoing conversation around tobacco myths vs facts.
Costing the taxpayer
It is arguably false that smokers cost the taxpayer more than non-smokers in their lifetime. Although taxes and public services vary widely by country and jurisdiction, in many parts of the world it is simply not true. What is true is that many, many smokers contract a disease related to smoking and it is that disease, that illness, that costs the system. The problem is that that negates the fact that, like everyone else, all smokers are eventually going to die, but they may die of something that has nothing to do with smoking. Here’s the salient point:
Most countries run public healthcare systems. (Despite popular opinion to the contrary, the US system is the largest.) According to research by Dr. Richard Doll, on average smoking costs a smoker eleven years of their life. In other words, they will die eleven years sooner than if they had not smoked. Government old-age benefit programs are, sorry to have to tell you this, legal Ponzi schemes. It can be safely argued that people utilize these programs, i.e., they cost the government the most during the last third of their lives. That’s when they retire and most benefits kick in.
Now, the smoker’s healthcare needs, when they are dying, are costing the healthcare system money. There’s no debating that. But, by dying 11 years earlier than they would have had they not smoked, they are also not collecting 11 years of Social Security/old-age benefits. So, in a sick way (pun intended), smokers are doing society a financial favor by smoking because literally, at the end of the day, they are costing the government, the country, less than their non-smoking fellow citizens.
Smoking Kills
Do not misunderstand me. Smoking is a disgusting habit. It is dangerous. It kills. You should not do it. I am against smoking tobacco. But the fact that it does not constitute a national financial burden in the way that most people believe it does, does not detract from my just expressed thoughts and warnings. Knowing the truth is never a bad thing. It’s a positive. And, sometimes, it’s shocking.
Myth about Taxes
The mantra, “If we raise taxes fewer people will smoke,” is also not true. It’s a tobacco myth. People are addicted to nicotine, a substance, by the way, that is naturally found in the tobacco plant. If they need to smoke, they will find a way. That “way,” is the black market. Instead of buying their smokes at the corner store, and paying taxes, they will buy them from the guy on the corner with the gym bag. You know, the guy who does not charge taxes because he doesn’t pay them, not to mention duties. So, the smoker still smokes, he just buys his, or her, smokes illegally. The seller makes money, the government loses money. Since cigarette revenues drop, the government declares a “win,” claiming that fewer people are smoking. But the reality is the opposite.
What’s more, these illegal sales are normally not done by the pack, but by the carton. The product may be contraband or counterfeit. So, in addition to the threat from tar and nicotine, who knows what is really in these cigarettes? Moreover, the sellers are not checking IDs and may very well be selling to minors.
Smoking Prevalence and the Myth of Decline
So, as taxes rise, government revenues decline, the prevalence of smoking has decreased, but the number of smokers has steadily increased, at least this has been the case since about 1990 when the number rose to about 1.1 billion. This shows that increasing taxes to decrease the number of smokers may not work, and that the anti-smoking campaigns have not entirely succeeded in stopping younger people from starting to smoke. Since there are more people in the world today than three decades ago, the actual number of smokers is rising despite the decrease in the prevalence of the habit.
Misconceptions about Nicotine and Addiction
Another myth is that the tobacco companies spike nicotine in tobacco products to raise the potency of the product to increase addiction. The opposite is true. The actual process of manufacturing cigarettes lowers the amount of nicotine in the finished product. Frankly, the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide contained within cigarettes has to comply with International Standards Organization (ISO) and, in the US, FTC regulations. To lower the amount of nicotine and tar, the cigarette manufacturers place filters on the cigarettes and make laser perforations, so the cigarettes burn quicker, and the smoker inhales less toxins. There is no manipulation to make the cigarette more addictive, at least to my knowledge. This is another enduring falsehood in the world of tobacco myths vs facts.
The only analogy I can offer may be the addiction of millions to caffeine. How many people can’t start their day without their first cup of coffee? How many go through actual withdrawal and get violent headaches when they are not able to get their caffeine fix? It’s a vice, albeit pleasurable and not deadly, but a vice, an addiction, nonetheless.
Misconceptions about Marketing to Children
Now for the important misconception, marketing to children. Up until the 1960s, cigarettes were marketed to everyone; there were few age restrictions on smoking. There was no focused campaign directed specifically at children. It is simply false to make the charge. Even though it will spoil the chronology, let me once and for all put to rest the issue of trying to get children addicted to cigarettes.
The first claim that is made is that the manufacturers added tasty flavors to cigarettes, such as fruit and other sweets, to get children to smoke. Adults like those flavors as much as children. They have ever since they were young! Liquor now comes flavored, such as fruit flavored vodka.
Tobacco Myths in Culture and History
I am a fan of Major League Baseball. In the ninth inning of a 2023 season game, I noticed that the advertisement behind Homeplate, the prime real estate at Rogers Centre in Toronto (because the camera is always on it), was for Mike’s Hard Iced Tea, with their slogan emphasized in large lettering, “Bringing the Lemon to Hard Iced Tea.” Does anyone honestly believe that the Blue Jays or Major League Baseball is trying to entice children, of which there were many in the stadium, to drink alcoholic beverages? Of course not. Adults like the taste of lemons. They are marketing to adults, not children.
And then there are the cartoon characters. Well, Joe Camel was not meant for children. The entire Camel family were adult camels. Manufacturers used cartoon characters because they did not want to have to deal with, pay, talent (actors). And what of the Budweiser frogs? No one claimed Bud was trying to get children to drink. Just because something appeals to children does not mean it is meant for children.
If you originally met the Flintstones when the show was first broadcast, it was not on the Saturday morning cartoons. Fred and Barney advertised Winston cigarettes. But at the time, the cartoon was shown on prime time, and was meant for adult audiences. The show actually dealt with adult issues. Albeit a cartoon, The Flintstones was the first television show to depict a husband and wife, wait for it, sleeping in the same bed. South Park was not the first adult cartoon on television.
Tobacco Marketing
Back in the day, everyone was the focus of tobacco marketing campaigns because everyone could legally smoke. Physicians even prescribed cigarettes because it was believed that nicotine could help with medical conditions: sooth anxiety, promote weight-loss, even help with depression. These were not carnival charlatans but real, honest to goodness, licensed physicians.
Now let’s be fair. Don’t judge those medical practitioners by today’s standards. They did not have the information then that we have now. They honestly thought they were helping their patients.
Tobacco Myths in Culture and History
It was part of the culture. Growing up, and this was far from unique, my parents were smokers. (I started when I was 15 and continued for the next 21 years.) My father was a cigar and pipe smoker. He had a smoking room in the house. My mother smoked French cigarettes. Many people smoked in the 1970s and 1980s. Most thought nothing of it from a health perspective. It was a societal norm that overrode the growing health consciousness. It took decades for the anti-smoking sentiment to sweep over North America. Accordingly, throughout my childhood many, many people smoked, and it was socially acceptable. In fact, at dinner parties, along with presenting guests with coffee and chocolates, a tray of cigarettes was often available.
Tobacco Myths in Culture and History
Cultural norms and limited medical knowledge in the past led to widespread smoking, even among physicians who once recommended cigarettes for their supposed health benefits. This reflects a past steeped in tobacco myths, where the dangers of smoking were largely misunderstood or ignored. Today, with access to more comprehensive research, we can better distinguish tobacco myths vs facts and make more informed health choices.
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