Modern Witch Hunt

Today's Topic for Discussion

Nobody can deny the harm that cigarettes have cause in the United States and worldwide.  It is, and has been, quite literally an epidemic.  Millions upon millions of people have died or undergone treatment as a result of the complications, and for decades Big Tobacco recklessly targeted Youth with their advertisements, "hooking them young."  I personally have lost family members to lung cancer and smoking-related ailments.

These are all bad things.

The world has now changed.  Nobody can reasonably claim that people are uninformed as to the dangers of smoking anymore.  Awareness and education are at all-time highs, and the effort expended educating our youth as to the dangers of tobacco far outstrips the grand boondoggle that is the War on Drugs.  Ask your friends that smoke (if you can find any, numbers have been strongly declining for over a decade - CDC Info) and most if not all will probably tell you something along the lines of "I know I shouldn't, but I like it/it calms me/I don't care."  These people aren't uniformed, they are just making bad decisions.  It's much like the issues with obesity, we know we shouldn't eat as much, or as badly, but we do anyways because it tastes good and we like it.

Are there issues with the old "coolness factor"? Absolutely.  But even Hollywood has gotten on board, as characters smoking in movies has shown to actually decrease box office returns. (Source)  We can no longer effectively point to the classic "lead actor cigarette" as a driving force.  It has become far more controversial to show someone smoking cigarettes than marijuana or even harder drugs. (Weeds?  Eastbound and Down?)

We have even progressed to the point where some classic pictures are having their cigarettes edited out for posterity.  When someone like Winston Churchill is being portrayed without his trademark cigar for fear of offending the anti-smoking lobby (don't kid yourself, it's a huge business), you know that things have gotten out of hand.

Tobacco has become a modern-day whipping boy in the media.  It has gotten to the point where no limits are enforced when we are denigrating the producers of cigarettes.  All tobacco companies are apparently uniformly evil, conniving, and most likely criminals.  We point to ads run twenty years ago as justification of attacks, yet ignore the companies marketing sweet, fatty, and nutritionally bereft items to our children.

Smokers themselves are being seen as second class citizens.  Here in Massachusetts, you can no longer smoke in bars, pool halls, or as far as I can tell, whole towns.  Outdoor smoking areas have been condensed, confined, and tucked back in corners by the dumpsters.  There are even people talking about banning smoking inside people's private homes.   Let's make this clear.  You're allowed to have small amounts of marijuana for your personal use, but we might PROHIBIT YOU FROM SMOKING TOBACCO.


There is obviously a strong push for complete bans on tobacco, and this might seem like a great idea.  But let me tell you a story.  Once there was a strong reform movement in a country to end the sale of a horrible substance.  This substance was highly addictive, had significant health risks, and caused many deaths.  It had long been recognized as a bad substance, but people kept taking it even though they knew the risks.  In order to save people from themselves, the government outlawed it across the board, completely prohibiting both production and consumption.  Soon, people started making it themselves in their basements, and quickly whole gangs came to power based on the huge demand and potential for illicit profits due to inflated prices.  These gangs led to a period of lawlessness, nearly shutting down whole cities.  Eventually, based upon these disruptions and huge public clamor, the government reversed its decision, and the substance was legal once again.

That's right people, that substance was Alcohol.  The other big Scourge of the Public.  People realized that some humans are going to use the substance no matter what we say, and a blanket ban can only exacerbate some of the problems.

With the push to mandate graphic and disturbing visuals on cigarette packages, we are taking things a little too far.  This has gone beyond the "cigarettes are harmful" stage to "cigarettes are icky."  A number of people have decided that they are personally offended by the existence of tobacco, and have been giving a go-ahead to heap as much abuse as they feel upon the industry and the users of the product.  It is perfectly acceptable to shun a smoker and force them stand out back next to the dumpster so they can engage in their "dirty little habit".  If someone was a known heroin addict, they would get far more equitable and humane treatment from their fellow Americans.

Let's all take a deep breath, stand back, and look at this logically.  We don't make Budweiser print labels showing the aftermath of drunk-driving accidents or McDonald's plaster posters of quadruple-bypass surgery on their signs.  If we aren't willing to apply this across the board, we can't do it to Tobacco simply because people think they are Really Bad.  Let's stop persecuting the people involved, keep educating people as to the dangers, and stop worrying quite so much about out neighbors' business.