Unlucky Strike: Private Health and the Science, Law and Politics of Smoking - Brossura

Staddon, John

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1908684372 ISBN 13: 9781908684370

Casa editrice: Univ of Buckingham Pr, 2014

Riassunto

Smoking has been controversial ever since tobacco came to Europe in the sixteenth century. Fifty years ago, almost everyone smoked. Fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse cigarettes were illegal in several U.S. states early in the twentieth century. Smoking has always been a ready source of revenue. It has also been a source of health problems, real and imagined. The mixture of pleasure, money and health risk means that smoking is rarely treated fairly by politicians, health professionals or the public. Now, tough anti-smoking laws are almost universal. The misinformation about, and unreasoning hostility directed at, smoking and smokers and the sight of smokers, usually poor, puffing desperately outside in winter weather is one reason for this book. Smoking has no public cost. It puts individual smokers at risk. It does not put the public purse at risk. Prompted by this surprising discovery, Staddon looked further into the facts. The more he looked, the weaker the case against smoking as a public health issue became. Is Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) really dangerous to children? How do they know? Does it really cause sudden infant death? How do they know that? Proving that smoking can cause an ever-growing list of ailments requires a scientific case that is often impossible to make, for logical, ethical and practical reasons. The case against ETS, in particular, is exceedingly weak. So, if smoking has no public cost and the medical case for third-party harm is weak, why are smokers victimized in so many ways? This book tries to find out and the answer is not pretty.

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Recensione

The facts should make society much more relaxed about smoking than it is. But prejudice and perverse incentives in the political and legal systems have pushed policy in the opposite direction. It's time for a re-think and a redress. Let's see if you agree? - From the preface to the book. John Staddon is James B. Duke Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Biology and Neurobiology, Emeritus, at Duke University. The main thread running through Professor Staddon's book is the notion of 'private health' versus 'public health'. His strong contention is that smoking is not a cost to society and he backs this up with references to published papers. And that is even without considering pension savings or tobacco taxation. He also explains, with evidence, that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) poses no significant health risk to third parties. And disputes the notion that smoking is 'addictive' in any normally understood sense. Given this, he argues that smoking is in no sense a 'public health issue' and instead is a private one. Thus there should not be any public health campaign at all against smoking. He begins with a very brief history of tobacco and continues with the issues raised by Fisher in the 1950s. He concludes that the evidence of health risk from active smoking is now overwhelming although he does not say why he is so sure. He then points out that many activities are risky but are a matter of personal, informed, choice. We at freedom2choose fully agree with this sentiment. In many ways he appears to have come into the debate from a different angle from other writers. Regrettably, it seems that the only group speaking up for smokers that he has heard of is 'Forest'. He can't really be blamed too much though because despite our efforts; groups such as Freedom2Choose, Forces, CAGE, NYClash and the Smoker's Club (to name just a few) still tend to have a rather small media presence. The book is also crammed with information on anti-tobacco litigation and the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA appears to violate both Article 1, Section 10 of the constitution barring compacts between states as well as federal anti-trust statutes (it enforces a legal cartel). ... it is in essence a protection racket (extortion). You (the tobacco companies) pay me (the states and trial lawyers) a large amount of money. In return you get protection from competition (the agreement forms a cartel) and from state lawsuits. And smokers rather than the tobacco companies are forced to pay for it all without even being consulted. On the downside, this is, at 130 or so pages, a very short book. Despite that, he covers a lot of ground and such conciseness has merit in itself. That said, it is very well written and highly readable. Numerous colour illustrations by David Hockney are provided which help to illuminate his case. Strongly recommended. And as to the question posed at the end of the top quote: the answer is YES, we fully agree. --Tony Ward, executive committee of 'Freedom2Choose'

It's a puff of smoke in the face of the anti-smoking lobby. David Hockney, the painter whose style is as instantly recognisable as a pack of Marlboro, has given permission for his artworks to be put to the service of a pro-smoking campaign. --Rachel Campbell Johnston, The Times

L'autore

John Staddon is James B. Duke Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Biology and Neurobiology, Emeritus, at Duke University. He is a Faculty Affiliate at the John Locke Foundation and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of York (UK). He has published more than 200 research papers and six books. David Hockney, contributor both of the Foreword, and of some original illustrations for this book, is one of the most influential British artists living today.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Univ of Buckingham Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1908684372
• ISBN 13: 9781908684370
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Disegnatore: Hockney David
• Numero di pagine: 111
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: FAMOSA; 0; https://giochipreziosi.it/; ; CL del Franco s/n, Parcela IXPol. Ind. Las Atalayas; Alacant/Alicante; 3114; Spagna