Tobacco still the biggest killer

[Tom]

SMOKING is still the biggest cause of preventable death and disability in Australia, a new report says.

 

It is worse than obesity, alcohol, high cholesterol, road crashes, illicit drugs or unsafe sex, the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found.

 

Of 14 preventable health risks, tobacco was the single biggest killer and worst cause of disease.

 

It was responsible for 12 per cent of all deaths in Australia in 2003, killing more than 15,000 people.

 

Next worst were high blood pressure, high body mass, physical inactivity and high blood cholesterol.

 

Alcohol, low consumption of fruit and vegetables, illicit drugs, occupational hazards, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, air pollution, unsafe sex and osteoporosis were also risk factors, with all preventable risks together accounting for 32 per cent of the total burden of disease and injury in 2003.

 

Several also contributed to cardiovascular-related deaths such as strokes and heart attacks, which in 2003 killed almost 49,000 people, making up 37 per cent of all deaths in Australia.

 

AIHW spokesman John Goss said 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease was caused by at least one of the preventable risk factors examined.

 

"We could get rid of 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease if we didn't have these risk factors and 30 per cent of cancers if people were not smoking and ate fruit and vegies and weren't overweight or obese," Mr Goss said.

 

Anti-smoking groups called for more funding for quit campaigns.

 

"We should not lose sight of the fact that tobacco is killing many more Australians than the combined total of all other leading causes - including illicit drugs, alcohol, car accidents, breast cancer and homicide," Action on Smoking and Health chief executive Anne Jones said.

 

"The latest federal Budget included much needed new money for chronic diseases - of which smoking is a major risk factor. But there were no new tobacco control initiatives, despite evidence that every dollar spent yields a two dollar return on the investment," she said.

 

Australia spent less per capita on tobacco control than New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

 

Author: Kellee Nolan

Date: May 25, 2007

Source: AAP

Copyright: 2007 News Limited

 

Of 14 preventable health risks, tobacco was the single biggest killer and worst cause of disease.

 

It was responsible for 12 per cent of all deaths in Australia in 2003, killing more than 15,000 people.

So somebody explain to me why, other than for tax reasons, tobacco is still legal and mj is not. Governments are making money out of drug addictions, to my mind they are just as bad, if not worse, than the low-life meth dealers around the corner.

 

[mull]

Hmm, tis a lil strange.. get rid of the growers to import the same amount or more.. hmmm

 

'Payout deal ends tobacco farming'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...6-23289,00.html

[Nooby]

Mull,

 

Better yet why dont they replace their tobacco licenses with hemp licenses and do us all a favour?

[Al Fish]

“SMOKING is still the biggest cause of preventable death and disability in Australia…It is worse than obesity, alcohol, high cholesterol, road crashes, illicit drugs or unsafe sex, the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found.”

 

Seriously?

Didn’t these words bring back memories of Harry J. Arselicker to anyone but me? I mean, really?

 

How was this truly bizarre conclusion reached? By what methodology: notes taken over a Pub counter-lunch; some slanted statistics? What definitions were used for “obesity, alcohol, high cholesterol, road crashes, illicit drugs or unsafe sex”? What definitions were used for tobacco and what rates of usage constituted smoking and amongst which demographic? What definition of smoking was used: pipe smokers, cigar smokers, cigarette smokers (tailor-mades or roll your own) and rates? What, if any, risk factors apart for ‘smoking’ were considered?

 

 

“Of 14 preventable [and unspecified] health risks…”

“…the single biggest killer and worst cause of disease.”

 

Upon what data was this startling conclusion reached and how was that data collected? These are serious questions that to varying degrees have compromised every study and report from the first and infamous Surgeon-General’s of 1964.

 

“It [tobacco] was responsible for 12 per cent of all deaths in Australia in 2003, killing more than 15,000 people.”

 

Again, how are these figures reached? Example: recently a gene has been discovered that pre-disposes its possessors’ to emphysema. If these people smoke, did and do they develop emphysema from smoking? What of those who contract lung cancer and who never smoked? Or who gave up 25 years ago, or 15 years ago, or 5?

 

“Next worst were high blood pressure, high body mass, physical inactivity and high blood cholesterol.”

 

Apart from physical inactivity all of the others are diet issues. If smokers have the same diets as everyone else or of poorer quality because they are on limited incomes and therefore tend to skimp on food to purchase an inexpensive but highly taxed product like tobacco are these factor taken into account and how could these be?

 

"We could get rid of 70 per cent of all cardiovascular disease if we didn't have these risk factors and 30 per cent of cancers if people were not smoking and ate fruit and vegies and weren't overweight or obese,"

 

This means that even if everybody stopped smoking, ate only what their dietician told them and maintained perfect body weight 70% of cancers would still occur! How do we know that whatever the unknown risk factors that cause the 70% of cancers do not also cause these cancers to smokers?

 

“Anti-smoking groups called for more funding for quit campaigns.” And I’m sure that a number of big pharmaceutical companies were glad that they did!

 

“"We should not lose sight of the fact that tobacco is killing many more Australians than the combined total of all other leading causes - including illicit drugs, alcohol, car accidents, breast cancer and homicide," Action on Smoking and Health chief executive Anne Jones said.”

 

How was this conclusion arrived at? The old woman dies of a heart attack in her sleep and she’s been a smoker all of her life. Cause of death: due to smoking. Mrs. Next-door however simply died of a heart attack because she never smoked.

 

A friend of mine had a girlfriend who was learning to fly so he’d often just sit in the plane and go for a ride. He reckoned that early Sunday mornings the Campbelltown valley is covered in thick smog blown in from the Sydney basin. And you can bet your life that as those kids develop breathing and lung problems it’ll be due to tobacco smoking alright!

 

I smoke because smoking tobacco doesn’t have as many side effects as Prozac or its sibling pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the number of painkillers and anti-depressants advertised and sold suggests what has replaced tobacco. Bottom line: Cancer rates in the developed world are rising as smoking rates are plummeting. Those who quite happily jog in the traffic, get flu injections composed of stuff best left unmentioned, drink tap-water with an unknown number of chemicals added (I think it’s about 200) and gorge themselves on preservative, artificial colours and flavours are the first to adopt mock coughing fits as soon as they see someone smoking; coughing all the more bizarre when they’re standing up-wind.

 

There are a number of easily ascertainable web sites offering alternative information on the tobacco/smoking debate to that spewed forth from Propaganda Central. My long held fear is that whilst ever there is an easy, just rolls off of the tongue scapegoat, other issues such as mineral depleted soils, poor diet, pollution and the fact that our environment has been flooded with chemicals will never be addressed.

 

Just blame the Ciggie!

 

http://www.lcolby.com/

[euph0rix]

Tobacco probably isnt all that bad before its processed. But fuck, have you seen the shit they add to it to make it more addictive and burn better, some of the chemicals in there are to dull down the reaction to your body of nicotine as it is a poison. If your saying the cancer is caused by other chemicals in other stuff we breathe and consume thats true but just think about how many chemicals your a delivering straight into your body, theres plenty of carcinogenic chemicals in our world, but smoking is guarantee of delivering it straight into your blood. Also im sure the scientists have done tests that prove it is the biggest cause. Cant you feel the chemicals affecting you when you smoke, I certainly can it makes me feel ill.

 

Heres the list of additives, they arent all chemicals but theres some strange shit in there. http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotinein...gredients.htm

 

Edit: Also I think if you smoke cigarettes you might as well smoke weed with pesticide chems all over it, still probably less harmfull

Edited June 1, 2007 by euph0rix

[godonacid]

i keep wondering about some of the crap on the tobacco packets like the smoking causes blindness, i dont know any one that is blind from smoking, and the gangrene foot well i never saw that happen either and i know some people who have been smoking for quite some time now, so while im not disputing smoking is bad i wonder about some of the shit they say. i think that a lot of those deaths can be attributed to other things, if you look at the statistics more people die each year than what actually do die, smoking was responsible for 12% of all deaths aye, how many of those deaths where heart disease / stroke / any number of other things, these deaths get put in multiple categories (smoking, obesity, lack of exercise), much like the road fatalities where almost every road fatality that has pot in the system also has alcohol or some other factor so it gets written down im multiple sets of stats, it all a bullshit numbers game.

[euph0rix]

Yeh the photos on the packets are a bit extreme, yeh I dont know any people that are blind from smoking, I guess its just a scare tactic. Which isnt working. Apparently kids think weed is bad nowdays and less are smoking it but they all seem to smoke tobacco and take MDMA every weekend like its nothing. Ive abused MDMA and its not nothing. It fucks you up without you knowing... Yeh statistics are pretty bullshit, maybe they need to do a statistic for smokers that die of cancer only and see what that turns out like.

[pipeman]

my grandmother died of lungcancer in her 40's although she never smoked. Of course her husband chain smoked non stop. Maybe that had something to do with it. He was already dead a few years earlier...

 

My Dad, on the other hand, who has the same physical characteristics of his Dad, is now 25 years older than his Dad was when he died. He doesn't smoke.

 

This means that even if everybody stopped smoking, ate only what their dietician told them and maintained perfect body weight 70% of cancers would still occur!

 

you throw around the figure of 30% like its a small number, thats a massive number mate.

 

It concerns me that stoners have this view on smoking tobacco. Maybe they are right and smoking dope turns you into a brain dead sktizo?

Edited June 2, 2007 by pipeman

[Al Fish]

The case against smoking is actually extremely weak – despite the hype.

If anyone wishes to publish material that doesn’t support the cause (pick a cause, any cause) the material will not be published.

 

Joe Jackson has written an interesting article and he doesn’t work for any tobacco companies (although I cannot comment on his mental health): http://www.joejackson.com/smoking.php

[pipeman]

OK Al, I skimmed parts of the essay, will read it properly in the next few days when I have time.

 

I assume its the conspiracy side of things that is at the heart of this issue for you. As you mentioned in another post, you think someone is behind the scene "pulling the strings". Is this what you want to talk about?