June 1, 2004
A Question of Paradigm... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes."
I need to admit this upfront: I have never smoked. I have no firsthand experience of the social aspects of smoking, or the sensory enjoyment of it, or even the struggles so many people have resisting nicotine. Whatever understanding I have is intellectual and empathetic, but in this case, that may be enough. You see, it just may be that smoking is far more than a personal choice; it's a global problem for all humanity.
By now you're heard that the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States has consolidated 1,600 studies and issued a stunning report: The scientific evidence has unquestionably determined that the physical impact of smoking on an individual is far more extensive that we ever imagined.
I may not smoke, but it was time to do the numbers.
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There are 45 million smokers in the United States alone, or about one out of every six people. Yet I don't see a lot of people smoking. I certainly don't see one in six. Could it be linked to living in San Francisco? A town which was early and aggressive in banning public smoking? But I travel extensively, and I still don't see a lot of people smoking. So after digging around for a while, I finally figured out why: I'm not poor.
The World Health Organization not only wanted to know how many smokers there were on the planet, they also wanted to know exactly who was smoking. It turns out, whether we're talking about wealthy developed countries or impoverished developing ones, it's the poorest people who tend to smoke.
Of the roughly 6 Billion people on the planet, 1.3 billion are the smokers. And most of them - a whopping 84% to be exact - live in developing or transitional countries. Most of the smokers are poor people in poor countries.
In a way, it's counter-intuitive. Doesn't smoking cost money? Shouldn't it be only the richest people who can afford to smoke? Well, tobacco is a tricky partner. In Bangladesh, over 10 million smokers are undernourished - and they would not be, if they simply spent their cigarette money on food. That's the harsh reality. They'd rather smoke than eat.
Chronic malnutrition isn't pretty. Add further the consequences of tobacco, and any way you look at it, the result is human suffering.
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The Surgeon General's report had other scientific news. Or non-news, so to speak, as we've known it for a long time: Quitting has immediate health benefits. In his words, the upswing starts "within minutes and hours after smokers inhale that last cigarette."
As good as that sounds, I think it may be part of the problem. It entices us to focus on convincing individuals who don't even want to stop, to stop quickly.
But the great ship of humanity doesn't turn on a dime. Not only that, it's never been particularly impressed by increased prices, scare tactics, logic or persuasion.
What we need now is an in-depth global paradigm shift. There's a proven link between tobacco and poverty, and yet global tobacco production is on the rise, and tobacco itself is grown in over 100 countries.
If we can somehow adopt the perception that smoking compromises both our individual and our collective futures, the great ship of humanity just might change course.
I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.
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