Recently I saw a commercial on tv sponsored by the anti-smoking organization known as "The Truth." It showed a montage of different teenagers sitting down, scratching their heads and looking puzzled. After about 30 seconds of this montage a voice in the background asks rhetorically, "Can you think of a reason why smoking is a good idea?" Obviously, the commercial intends on getting the viewer to agree with the implied message that there is indeed no good reason to smoke cigarettes.
But this commercial should be viewed by future generations as part of the propaganda our age much deal with. This commercial really doesn't want you to think long and hard about the merits or smoking; it simply wants you to quickly arrive at the conclusion that cigarettes are bad without thinking too hard about it. Why do they want you to arrive so hastily at this conclusion? Because if one truly considered the pros and cons of cigarette smoking, that person ought to be able to come up with both. There are, in fact, reasons why people smoke, and I believe that the reasonable voice in this debate has been ignored. No, I believe that the reasonable voice has not spoken up.
In my opinion, smoking cigarettes is not necessarily such a great evil as "The Truth" would have you believe. Participating in such behavior may be detrimental to the body, and may seem illogical and pointless in light of a balanced risk/benefit analysis, but I believe that there must be something valuable or seemingly worthwhile in such actions. It may be addictive, and given that fact, there are many people who have been sucked into the smoking culture without willing so themselves. However, Peer presure and nicotene are NOT the only reasons why people smoke. On top of those two reasons, people choose to smoke in order to feel good, since nicotene does can provide the smoker with a slight buzz. People also smoke in order to bond with other smokers, since a 15 minute smoke break may be the best or only opportunity that classmates, co-workers, and others may have to converse and relate to one another. On a more subconscious level, I believe that many people smoke in order to develop a personal ritual in a world where such a ritual may help to offset the meaninglessness and disorder that is everpresent in today's world.
People do, in fact, have what I believe to be legitimate reasons for smoking. Of course, even a balanced view of smoking much yield to statistical studies that point to smoking as being a cause of lung cancer, emphysema, higher blood pressure, and other negative effects on one's health. Smoking is bad for your body in the long run. But that is certainly not the whole story. "The Turht" will have you believe that it is stupid to smoke, but what is stupid, in my opinion, is the fact that no defense is given for smoking. I must admit, as I alluded to much earlier, I am not sure if the problem is that no-one has attempted to give a counter argument to "The Truth" or if it is that the anti-smoking campaign has stamped out any such defense with its propaganda. In any case, here is what I see as a balanced view of smoking. My gradfather died from lung cancer after many years of smoking, and many of my relatives are suffering under smoking's lon-term finanacial and health costs. I have seen what it does to people, and I know from looking at health studies (designed for the general public, since I am in no way an expert in the field of medicine) that smoking takes its toll on the body. But it can be good for the psyche.
I have recently began smoking cigarettes. I am purchased my third pack yesterday, and I started smoking sometime over winter break, about a month and a half ago. I can already start to feel the addiction subtely draw me, and I have found myself smoking outside of social situations (which is something I told myself I wouldn't do). But after examining my decision to smoke, and after rising above the obvious forces of peer pressure and addiction that may have their grapple hold on me, I come to the conclusion that smoking is not as inherently evil as tv commercials make it seem.
Please talk to me about this, because I would like to believe I am not a crusader for smoking. I know that out of the few people who may have read this far, there must be someone who disagrees. I welcome the dialectic.
