A REPORT ON THE NATION'S HABIT

[Music] well this is the pack of cigarettes that I had smoked that day the day before I went to the chiropractor because I was very nervous I was extremely nervous the chiropractor is the first one now that took and showed me took the x-ray and showed me that I really had a spot on my lung and I had smoked this pack of cigarettes the night before and that day and when I saw the spot I said I'll never smoke again I don't care what the spot is whether it is malignant or not I'll never never smoke again and so my daughter came and they were cleaning off my desk my table at the hospital when I got ready to come home and they were gonna throw these away and I said no I said don't throw them away I said someone may get it and smoke it I said leave this with me whether I live or die or when I do die put this in my casket and that way I'll be sure that nobody ever smokes it cigarette smoking first became popular with Americans in the late 1800s the favorite brands were made with Turkish not American tobacco's [Music] then in 1913 r.j. Reynolds launched a cigarette brand that revolutionized the industry camels camels were the first cigarettes designed primarily for advertising revenues teaser ads to imply that everyone would be smoking camels and soon they were by the end of World War one camels were America's number one brand with 40% of the nation's cigarette business in October 1920 dr. Moses Baron a young pathologist at the University of Minnesota performed an autopsy on a 46 year old man and found that he had died of lung cancer in 1920 lung cancer was an extremely rare disease sometimes several years went by without a single case appearing but now there were three cases in three months was this the onset of an epidemic Americans smoked more than 600 billion cigarettes a year the cigarette industry makes more than 14 billion dollars a year in sales but each year more than 17 billion dollars is lost as a result of smoking related medical care accidents and absenteeism 10 percent of all hospital and medical care costs are smoking related each year seventy seven million workdays are lost 88 million days spent in bed and 306 million days of restricted activity all because of smoking each year cigarettes are the direct cause of 325,000 deaths many of these victims are younger than you might expect they would have had several more decades of life if they had not smoked cigarettes cigarette smoke is made up of more than 3000 different substances 90% of the smoke consists of a dozen hazardous gases the remaining 10% is particle matter also known as tar of the gases carbon monoxide is the most dangerous it is colorless and odorless when carbon monoxide is inhaled it displaces the oxygen in the blood a cigarette smoker has from four to thirty times more carbon monoxide in the blood than a nonsmoker carbon monoxide is a principal contributor to circulatory diseases it damages the artery walls and leads the way to sudden death by heart attack tar contains the cancer-causing agents of cigarette smoke nicotine is the addictive element in tobacco it raises the blood pressure and heart rate causing the body to need more oxygen cigarettes can be particularly dangerous for mothers women who smoke during pregnancy tend to have babies with lower birth weights and if a nursing mother smokes her milk has less vitamin C than if she doesn't smoke low levels of vitamin C can cause damage to the infant young children are much more receptive to lung infections if their parents smoked and parents smoking sets a dangerous example there has been an enormous increase in the number of teenagers and preteens who smoke every day an additional four thousand children try cigarettes for the first time part of the increase can be blamed on low tar and nicotine cigarettes which are easier to smoke but there are other influences teenagers are 50% more likely to smoke if the adults they associate with smoke but by far the greatest influence comes from friends teenagers often feel the pressure to conform to friends behavior this behavior can include smoking cigarette the best way not to start is to refuse a cigarette if it is offered to you smoking is a decision you must make for yourself and your friends if they really are your friends will respect your decision quitting smoking is a lot more difficult than resisting starting a typical smoker may quit many times before he succeeds in breaking the habit the temptation to start again can sometimes be very strong many Americans have switched to low tar and nicotine cigarettes hoping to reduce the health risks of smoking sales of these brands are increasing more than 10% a year but these cigarettes may be more dangerous many smokers who switch to them have a tendency to smoke more smoking affects the health of involuntary smokers those who are forced to breathe the air polluted by cigarette smoke recent research has shown that sidestream smoke the smoke generated by a smouldering cigarette has more nicotine and carbon monoxide than mainstream smoke the smoke inhaled by a smoker the carbon monoxide level in a poorly ventilated room can reach hazard levels far beyond those which occur in air pollution emergencies or the person who wants to stop there is a lot more help than ever before in almost every community there are stop smoking groups that offer information and support for those who don't want to attend a group a number of books are available that explain proven stop smoking methods that's right it's never too late to stop smoking even lifelong smokers who quit will notice improvements in their health in just a couple of weeks if you quit smoking you can add years even decades to your life but the cigarette industry is not interested in anyone quitting smoking it spends two hundred sixty million dollars a year persuading Americans to smoke the top four brands alone spend more than 100 million dollars to encourage smoking and because many smokers are always changing brands the tobacco industry keeps coming up with new ones the techniques used to advertise smoking fall into four categories identity with an appealing attractive social image satisfying taste and smoking enjoyment lotar and some unique quality of the brands such as package style filter or length [Music] it is certain that advertising is essential to keep people smoking many health experts believe that if cigarette advertising were outlawed cigarette sales would drop drastically the 1964 surgeon general's report produced a dramatic change in smoking behavior more than twenty nine million people quit previously those who had stopped had done so because they were too ill to continue but from the mid 60s millions quit because of concern for their health from 1967 to 1971 anti-smoking ads were broadcast on television kids learn a lot from their parents and contradictory examples confuse them do you think we're being a nuisance and we tried to get our parents to stop smoking true you might be a nuisance but you're showing that you care about their health kicking the habit is tough but lung disease is tougher the ads had a particularly strong effect on children millions quit smoking because of these ads and millions more never started today's smoking is becoming less and less accepted many people find it annoying to be near a person who's smoking more than 70% of the population thinks that smoking should be restricted an increasing number of people are taking stands against smoking many offices are divided into smoking and non-smoking sections in some offices employees have voted not to allow smoking at all in many states smoking has been restricted in government buildings buses theaters hospitals and health facilities stores especially supermarkets restaurants and schools in 100 year period since cigarette smoking became popular the image of the smoker has changed dramatically from its earliest days cigarette smoking has been pictured as glamorous and romantic cigarette advertising made smoking seemed the thing to do the president smoked movie stars and athletes endorsed cigarettes cigarettes even seemed to help us win the war for women few of whom smoked before 1900 cigarettes became associated with equality and breaking traditional bonds but in 1964 the Surgeon General's report began to change all that every smoker knew he was risking his future health with every puff millions of smokers quit millions more wanted to today the image of the smoker continues to tarnish recently the Secretary of Health Education and Welfare declared smoking to be the nation's number one health problem research since 1960 since the 64 Surgeon General's report has proven that smoking is even more dangerous than we originally believed in accounts for even more diseases and disorders than we realized 14 years ago these facts mean that people who smoke or committing slow-motion suicide well I can tell you that the doctors give me with the medicines they're giving me they give me a 25% chance of living two years with the medicines and without the medicines they give me a 25% chance of living a year and if I didn't take the pain pills I wouldn't sleep at all and sometimes I still don't the pain isn't just in your lung where your tumor is the pain is covers your complete body it makes you weak it snaps you of all your strengths and naturally being in my lung I have no well I have no they told me that it takes five years one person did four just a little small place to form on your lung and mine is the size of the big [Music]