Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Governments say they want to prevent smoking and lung cancer but their actions show otherwise. Governments get rich from taxes on cigarettes. It would be easy for governments to make all cigarette sales illegal. People could still have the "freedom" to "grow tobacco and roll" their own if they want this "freedom". Putting the cigarette companies out of business would eliminate over 95% of smokers. Teens are too lazy to get addicted by having to grow and roll their own cigarettes. Big tobacco companies will continue to bribe politicians to keep this from happening. They get teens addicted when they are young and stupid and trying to fit in and prove they are "adults" by smoking with their friends. Smoking for as little as 2 years gets most teens addicted for life.
Ninety to ninety-five percent of lung cancer is from smoking or second-hand smoke. Every premature death from smoking (cancer, heart attacks, and strokes) is one less person the government has to pay social security benefits for the rest of their lives. Smoking addiction is a win-win situation for government (taxes and premature death with less social security payments). Governments can truly say smokers get addicted "of their own free will". How many teens do you know that would go to the trouble of growing and rolling their own cigarettes? Governments "facilitate" teens getting addicted by allowing legal production of cigarettes. Teens don't want "grown-ups" telling them what to do.
Smoking takes an average of 10 years off of your life expectancy.
References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2015 Aug 17].
Jha P, Ramasundarahettige C, Landsman V, Rostrom B, Thun M, Anderson RN, McAfee T, Peto R. 21st Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United States [PDF–738 KB]. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013;368(4):341–50 [accessed 2015 Aug 17].
Very true @dnagrimes. If governments really want to eradicate or at least limit smoking it should be banned or treated as illegal. However as you said they only impose taxes and give warnings, for what...
Thank you for adding this information. 😊
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If enough of us put pressure on our legislators we can get the sale of cigarettes made illegal. It will take a large majority of people because of all the tax money (and bribes) they will lose. Tobacco growing (and marijuana) can still remain legal so they can't complain of "loss of freedom". Cigarettes are the only product that when "used as directed" kills its consumer. If teens have to grow their own tobacco and roll their own cigarettes the addiction/deaths will disappear. Prohibition proved that people want legal (and safe) alcohol. So let them make, tax, and sell it. The addiction of nicotine is stronger than heroin. Getting teens addicted to nicotine is the only thing that lets tobacco companies continue to make billions of dollars dollars while killing millions of people prematurely with lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes and other cancer.
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