Eight Common Tobacco Myths

by Dr. Sainsbury

When it comes to society's vices, we frequently delude ourselves into believing that things are not quite as bad as they appear. Tobacco is no exception, as smokers imagine that their addictions are no worse than a predilection for chocolate. If only it were true. Here are a few of the cherished myths about tobacco.

MYTH: It has not been proven that smoking is harmful.

It's time to creep into the 21st century. There is an overwhelming abundance of evidence that smoking is not only harmful, smoking kills. The warnings on the cigarette packs in the United States have trended towards the lukewarm, although they are getting stronger. (In Canada, a typical warning on a pack of cigarettes says  "smoking can kill you.") Here's a 2010 fact for you: Tobacco kills more people every year in the US than all deaths caused by alcohol, drugs, accidents, suicides, and murders COMBINED. Is that clear enough?

MYTH: There are now safe cigarettes on the market.

Some brands of cigarettes contain less tar and nicotine than others, but none are safe. Filtered cigarettes reduce the disease risk only slightly, and menthol does nothing at all. All tobacco products contain carcinogens, and all dramatically increase the risk of heart and lung disease. If it contains tobacco, it is not safe.

MYTH: The cure rate for cancer has increased so much, smokers have less to fear.

It is true that the cure rate for many cancers has risen dramatically. Lung cancer, 98% of whom are smokers, is an exception. Ten years ago, only 10% of lung cancer patients lived five years. Today, that figure remains virtually unchanged.

MYTH: Once you have smoked for several years, the damage is done.

Fortunately, this is a falsehood. After just a few months of quitting, pulmonary function increases by 30%. The cardio-vascular disease risk is cut in half after one year of stopping. Your body can forgive much of the damage done by tobacco, but only if you quit.

MYTH: Tobacco is less addictive than alcohol or drugs.

The stimulant effect of smoking enters the brain within seconds, and is very hard to reverse. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin, alcohol, and cocaine. 90% of smokers want to quit but few can. The average number of tries before successful cessation is greater than five attempts. Despite new drugs and therapies, nicotine remains a very addictive drug.

MYTH: The weight gain associated with quitting smoking is worse than the smoking itself.

First, not everyone gains weight. For those who do, most lose the weight within one to two years. For those who never lose the weight they gain after quitting—their risk is still much, much lower than if they smoked and weighed less. It's not even close.

MYTH: Smokeless tobacco, pipe, and cigar use is safe—after all, its not like cigarettes.

False, false, and false. Smokeless tobacco still contains nicotine and carcinogens, which enter the blood stream and increase heart disease and oral cancer risk. Cigar and pipe smokers have a threefold increased risk of lung cancer and double the cardio-vascular risk as non-smokers.

MYTH: Air pollution is worse than tobacco use.

There is no comparison. In fact, secondhand smoke is worse than the heaviest smog. Secondhand smoke kills about 35,000 American annually due to increased heart disease, causes 3,000 lung cancer deaths, and triggers asthma attacks in hundreds of thousands each year.

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Let me conclude with a scary, non-myth about tobacco. The drug pushers . . . uhh, excuse me, tobacco companies need to recruit over 3,000 Americans each day, and encourage them to start smoking to make up for their clients who die or quit. And guess who they target . . . teenagers, that's who! Every day, teens are bombarded by clever advertising designed to entice them to take up this deadly addiction. That's a fact!

Mountain Gorilla image on banner by Steve Sainsbury. It will interest you to know that this particular one is Steve's favorite gorilla, a friend from one of his stays in Rwanda.