Sound Bites

Comments on their sound bites

Tobacco is the first avoidable cause of mortality in the world

To the excellent analysis [www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv21n4/lies.pdf Lies Damned Lies and 400 000 Smoking-related Deaths], explaining the methodological flaws in the computer estimates of smoking related morbidity and mortality, we need to add that the definition of smokers as determined by the CDC (Center For Disease Control, U.S.A.) is quite broad and calculates the risk factors of anyone who has smoked at least 100 cigarettes in his lifetime and either quit -- irrelevant of how long ago and how much one smoked -- or still smokes either regularly or occasionally --irrelevant of how long ago one started and how much and often one smokes -- thus ignoring the linear dose response model that if applied properly would produce more realistic and credible conclusions. Source: https://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/sammec/help/glossary_hp.asp and https://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/sammec/methodology.asp

Anyone -- current, former or never smoker -- can get a smoking related disease and despite the best anti-tobacco experts, including Sir Richard Doll, who testified in the Scottish landmark legal case MRS MARGARET McTEAR vs. IMPERIAL TOBACCO LIMITED, it could not be proven that had it not been for an individual's cigarette smoking, he would not have contracted lung cancer ( see [9.10] here: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2005CSOH69.html )

When one looks at how smoking related diseases are distributed within the U.S.A. population, one can draw complete different conclusions from the sound-bite Tobacco is the first avoidable cause of mortality in the world . Indeed based on real people with real diseases giving real answers as opposed to computer estimates using risk factors as their base model, here's how diseases are distributed within the U.S.A. population. And let's not forget the broad definitions of current smokers and former smokers as explained above:

Malignant neoplasms	Current	Former	Never
Any smoking-related chronic disease	36.9%	26.0%	37.1%
Lung	20.9%	61.2%	17.9%
Other cancers	38.8%	33.2%	28.0%
Coronary heart disease	29.3%	31.8%	38.9%
Stroke	30.1%	23.0%	47.0%
Emphysema	49.1%	28.6%	22.3%
Chronic bronchitis	41.1%	20.0%	38.9%
Other chronic disease	23.0%	23.5%	53.5%
No chronic disease	19.3%	16.4%	64.3%

Source, Table 2

There is no safe level of exposure for ETS, secondhand smoke is in the same category of carcinogens as asbestos and benzene.

The no safe level of exposure for ETS sound bite originated with Surgeon General Richard Carmona's statement that he made during the press conference of his 2006 report: The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. but is not included in the report itself. The closest resemblance to this statement is on page 65, which reads:

"The evidence for underlying mechanisms of respiratory injury from exposure to secondhand smoke suggests that a safe level of exposure may not exist, thus implying that any exposure carries some risk. For infants, children, and adults with asthma or with more sensitive respiratory systems, even very brief exposures to secondhand smoke can trigger intense bronchopulmonary responses that could be life threatening in the most susceptible individuals."

This is clearly speculative ("suggests...may") and it only applies to people who are extremely susceptible. Specifically, he seems to be referring to chronic asthmatics but there is no definition of what "very brief exposures" are. Ultimately, 'no safe level' means that no safe level has been detected with accuracy; it does not mean that exposure at any level is dangerous. Although the more accurate phrase that is used by some anti-tobacco lobby groups doesn't necessarily spell that out, it tends to be more honest by at least hinting as much: there are no known safe levels of second hand smoke 'known' being the operative word here. Much like potatoes, another nightshade plant that contains potentially harmful glycoalkaloids, it would take great effort to determine such levels. In the case of second hand smoke, the ends justify the means anti-tobacco philosophy will never allow such efforts to be undertaken. Similar to the conclusions about harm from potatoes, it's safe to say that common sense, decades of real life experience and epidemiological studies, dictate that there should be no reason for concern. From: [1]

"The Committee considered that, despite the long history of human consumption of plants containing glycoalkaloids, the available epidemiological and experimental data from human and laboratory animal studies did not permit the determination of a safe level of intake. The Committee recognized that the development of empirical data to support such a level would require considerable effort. Nevertheless, it felt that the large body of experience with the consumption of potatoes, frequently on a daily basis, indicated that normal glycoalkaloid levels (20-100 mg/kg) found in properly grown and handled tubers were not of concern."