Now it may just be my impression, but why is smoking and the tobacco lobby more demonized then alcohol?
It seems that while both are demonstrably bad for the user and abuser of either, that alcohol use contributes to more secondary ill-effects thaan smoking…drunk driving, dysfunction at work and in the family, violence, etc.
Yet, it is against the law to advertise cigs on TV, meanwhile Budweiser, Miller, Miechelob, wine coolers etc. are all over the place. Folks get upset at tobacco companies targeting kids, yet Budweiser has Louie the Lizard. And if beer commercials have taught me anything it is that the beautiful women will flock to me if I choose the correct beer.
Incredible lawsuits prevail against tobacco companies while beer makers are left relatively unscathed.
I realize there are several organizations that rail against alcohol abuse. I am no teetotaler and I do not smoke, I am not trying to debate the virtues or lack thereof of either. I am simply curious as to what is that seems to make smoking the devil incarnate and alcohol simply one of those things society must deal with to so many people?
That having been said, I will throw out a few reasons why tobacco is worse than alcohol (though of course they’re both bad for you):
• Addiction. Most people who drink can do so with moderation and don’t become alcoholics. Very few people can just smoke one cigarette a week or two and not get hooked.
• Health. One drink a day will not hurt you—in fact, some alcoholic drinks can be mildly good for you. Cigarettes are ALWAYS harmful to you.
• Second-hand smoke. I know the jury is till out on how MUCH harm it causes, but at the very least it’s stinky and annoying.
Yeah, I know, people don’t crash their cars from smoking, I sure won’t argue THAT. And no, I do NOT advocate Prohibition for smokers, before you dogpile on me. Just keep 'em away from us non-smokers.
There is a moderate level of alcohol consumption which is safe (and may be beneficial) for the user. This is not true of cigarettes.
There is no intrinsic harm done to others by drinking: it must be accompanied by some form of antisocial or dysfunctional behaviour to harm others, and plenty of people never drive, get aggressive, turn up late for work, etc as a result of drinking. There is evidence that smoking harms others by putting dangerous chemicals in the air they are breathing.
Even if it is not harmful, sitting next to somebody who is smoking can be unpleasant for many people, whereas sitting next to a drunk, provided he behaves himself, need not be.
People don’t crash their cars from drinking, either, they crash them from driving while they’re drunk.
I am sure that some drink-drivers do have drink problems, but I am equally sure that some of them drink only relatively modest amounts but don’t know when to leave their car at home and walk or take the bus.
Actually, if you go back and read cecils columns on 2nd hand smoke, altho he shows the evidence that SHS causes cancer & heart disease is not solid at this time, that is a great deal different than it does not. Note, also, that he agrees that SHS DOES kill, especially the old & young, with bad lungs. So, 2nd hand drinking does not kill as much as SHS.
That being said, my mother killed herself thru drinking, and it is not a pretty sight. Probably traumatic.
Note that nobody actually smokes just for pleasure (and i know I am going to be disagreed with), as there are/have been nicotine free smoking products, and they are amazingly unpopular (dope being the exception, but again, you smoke that to get the drug). On the other hand, alchohol-free beer & wine is very popular, showing that some folks drink just for the flavor.
Just you wait! 10-20 years from now (or less) when tobacco is illegal (or all but illegal) “THEY” will come back after alcohol. And they’ll win too because we won’t have any guns to fight them!
Well, I started smoking because I was bored, nothing else. I quit the day before I got married, but do occasionally have a herbal cigarette, especially when visiting friends that smoke. Here in N.Z. the most noticable adds about alchohol are those involving drunk drivers and hospitals. But then the average Kiwi drinks several times more than the average Yank.
its one of those stats the govt. throws around to try to scare people into drinking less. Apparently the average Kiwi drnks 2 or 3 times as much as the average Yank, based on overall national alchohol consumption. I don’t drink much myself, these days, but when in the army, I did my fair share. <taking the piss>Any american beer shouldn’t count, because its like sex in a canoe</taking the piss>
You’re dealing with a small, hot, flammable item in your hand.
Both hands SHOULD be on the steering wheel.
Concentration should be on the road and the area surrounding your vehicle.
concentration is broken (disasterously) when you drop the cigarette.
The mother of a friend of mine crashed her car because she dropped her cigarette. Her immediate reaction was “Oh geez! Hot thing! Better grab it before it burns something (maybe me)!” She leans down, one hand on the wheel, eyes looking at the floor of the car, she overcompensates the steering wheel, veers off into another car she didn’t even see coming.
She was lucky, but I’m sure she felt pretty stupid after that.
However, I have seen other smokers who insist on doing so while they’re driving. And I just do NOT trust them behind the wheel.
The cigarettes contain the herb marshmellow, also ginseng, rosehip, and assorted other bits. For someone who hasn’t smoked in a while, it gives you something to do with your hands in a social smoking type situation. However, after 1 year of no tobacco, and a packet of herbal smokes, one drag on a normal cigarette is like trying to inhale a forest fire. I now have no temptation whatsoever to go back to normal cigarettes, which is largely the point of the things.
pkbites said: You’ll all scoff at this, but… Just you wait! 10-20 years from now (or less) when tobacco is illegal (or all but illegal) “THEY” will come back after alcohol. And they’ll win too because we won’t have any guns to fight them!
pk, allow me to be the first to scoff at this: I think it’s a ridiculously implausible scenario. Thank you.
