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0 pointstopmonk8y ago0 comments

> If history is a guided then generations of tobacco execs can strike it rich by killing people, before the gig is up.

You know, some people like cigarettes, despite the health effects. No one is "killing" you, if you decide to use a product even though you are aware of the risks.

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7 comments · 2 top-level

DanBC8y ago· 5 in thread

> if you decide to use a product even though you are aware of the risks.

vast majority of smokers are not aware of the risks. they have some vague knowledge that smoking is dangerous, bu most smokers don't know, for example, that smoking is a leading cause of erectile dysfunction.

Clubber8y ago

Do you have any data to back that assertion up? I suspect most smokers know the health risks, it's just that they are addicted.

DanBC8y ago

Here are a few:

2005: pregnant women know smoking is harmful; many tried to give up; but "awareness and acceptance of specific risks were inadequate."

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09595239700186321

2005: "Knowledge and perceived risk of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and oral disease was high among current smokers; knowledge and perceived risk of reproductive-related problems, and cancers other than lung cancer was much lower. Smokers recognize that smoking may result in premature death, but are less likely to acknowledge that smoking could result in a disability significantly affecting their quality of life."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15850879

2015: "Only half of current smokers considered themselves at higher risk of lung cancer than the average-risk population, and less than 40% of individuals were aware that the risk of lung cancer never disappears after smoking cessation"

http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/Past-Conferences/ELCC-2015-L...

ekianjo8y ago

Only in developed countries because of years of awareness campaigns. Consider developing countries have NONEof those and you can start to grasp how true that statement is.

pantalaimon8y ago

I think "cognitive dissonance" is the concept you are looking for.

topmonkOP8y ago

But they do know that some of their parents, friends, uncles, cousins, grandparents smoked and lived happy lives. Instead of diving into obscure statistics finding things to worry about.

QAPereo8y ago

Such people are a minority of smokers around the world, and given how addictive nicotine is, probably fooling themselves. The average smoker is in the Asia Pacific region, India, Indonesia, and Africa, and is impoverished. In those regions as elsewhere, socioeconomic class and education correlate with the lowest numbers of smokers.

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