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

Staddon, John; Hockney, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908684372 ISBN 13: 9781908684370

Publisher: University of Buckingham Press, 2014

Synopsis

Remember fifty years ago when everyone smoked?

Since tobacco found its way into Europe in the sixteenth century, smoking has been a controversial issue. Fifty years ago, almost everyone smoked, and fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse; up until the early twentieth century, cigarettes were illegal in a number of U.S. states.

Needless to say, smoking has always been a ready source of revenue. It has also been a source of health concerns, both real and imagined.

This mixture of pleasure, money and risk that comes with the act of smoking means that it's rarely treated fairly by politicians, health professionals or the public. Nowadays, tough anti-smoking laws are to be obeyed in most corners of the globe.

The misinformation about, and unreasoning hostility directed at, smoking and smokers is one of the major concerns of this book. After all, smoking has no public cost. Isn't it just the individual smokers who are at risk?

Prompted by this burgeoning fascination, Staddon looks further into the facts. And the more he looks, the weaker the case against smoking as a public health issue becomes.

Is ETS really dangerous to children? And if so, how can science prove it? And if smoking has no public cost and the medical case for third-party harm is weak, why are smokers still being victimised?

In this provocative, thought-provoking book, Staddon is determined to uncover the truth about smoking. But the truth's not always pretty.

About this title

Product Description

Title: Unlucky Strike( Private Health and the Science Law and Politics of Smoking) <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: JohnStaddon <>Publisher: UniversityofBuckinghamPress

Review

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

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Buckingham Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908684372
• ISBN 13: 9781908684370
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176