CIGARETTES

For men shall be lovers of their own selves … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

—II Tim 3:2, 4

685 American Smoking Statistics

Americans are the heaviest smokers in the world, burning up an average of 4,300 cigarettes per adult per year. The 607,000 million cigarettes thus consumed cost smokers $13,000,000,000.

686 Should You Take The Risk?

For non-smoking men between the ages of 55 through 59, there is one chance in 8197 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one chance in 2075; moderate smokers, one chance in 867; heavy smokers, one chance in 573. For nonsmokers between the ages of 60 through 64, there is one chance in 7092 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one in 1081; moderate smokers, one in 552; heavy smokers, one in 371. For nonsmokers over 65 years of age, there is one chance in 3165 of dying from lung cancer; light smokers, one in 412; moderate smokers, one in 393; heavy smokers, one in 296.

—Scripps-Howard Bureau

687 Reducing Your Years

The former president of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Alton Ochsner, said: “Of the 30,000 men and women who will die of lung cancer the next year, death in 95% of the cases will be traceable to smoking. Each cigarette costs the smoker 14.4 minutes of his life.”

Dr. Linus Pauling, two-time Nobel prize-winning chemist, told the students of the University of Toronto: “If everyone were to stop smoking, the overall life expectancy would rise by four years.”

This is based on the fact that a person who smokes a pack a day from twenty years of age on has his life expectancy reduced by eight years. Studies also reveal that a 50-year-old person who has never smoked will live an average eight-and-a-half years longer than a person who smokes a pack a day, and seventeen years longer than one who smokes two packs a day.

688 Doctor’s Opinions On Smoking

Among chest surgeons 63 percent said heavy smoking may lead to lung cancer. Among pathologists 50 percent agreed. Asked if they would advise patients to reduce smoking or give it up, 90 percent of the chest surgeons said yes; 83 percent of pathologists said yes and 57 percent of cancer researchers said yes. From the Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, came another study showing heavy smoking alone or in combination with heavy drinking greatly increases the risk of developing cancer of the larynx, or voice box.

—Dr. Charles S. Cameron, American Medical Association

689 Physicians, Heal Thyselves

According to Solidarity, a leading medical journal found via a questionnaire answered by more than 60,000 doctors in the U. S. and Canada that only 22 percent of the reporting physicians are now cigarette smokers. That’s a drop of nearly 60 percent compared to a similar survey made ten years ago. Of these 60,000 doctors, only 2.8 percent profess any doubts as to whether cigarette smoking is a health hazard.

690 No Advertisements In Finland

A law has gone into effect in Finland in 1977 prohibiting the advertisement of tobacco and alcoholic products. It was part of the government effort to discourage the two habits. Alcohol and cigarette levies had accounted for 9% of total government tax revenues. But the higher losses in broken lives and related crimes were taken into consideration.

691 “Cancerettes”

Roman Catholic Bishop Cornelius Lucey of Cork, Ireland, has coined a new word for cigarettes—cancerettes! “The heavier a smoker you are, the more likely you are to be a victim of lung cancer,” said the bishop.

692 Slow Suicide

Bullets, guns, gas, electric chair, drowning, hanging are faster; but for slow suicide there is nothing like cigarettes, cigars and pipes. Cigarette smoke contains 19 poisons, including carbon monoxide, nicotine, carbolic acid, and furfural. One cigarette contains as much furfural as 20 ounces of whiskey. Furfural is 50 times as poisonous as alcohol. It causes temors, convulsions, muscle twitching, paralysis of respiratory muscles. Hudson Maxin said, “With every breath, smokers inhale imbecility and exhale manhood.” Famous last words—”I’m different—I can take it. It never hurt me yet.”

—Voice of the Nazarene

693 New Warning On Smoking

Since 1964, various Government reports have linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer, emphysema and other respiratory ailments. U. S. Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld has fired yet another salvo: a 488-page report to Congress showing, among other things, that smokers who rely on pipes and cigars are not as safe as they imagine.

Because pipe and cigar smokers rarely inhale deeply, says the new report, they are only slightly more susceptible to lung cancer than nonsmokers. But pipe smokers can develop cancer of the mouth or lip. Many pipe puffers and cigar chompers do draw smoke down as far as the larynx. As a result, their chances of developing cancer of the throat are three to seven times greater than those of people who avoid smoking of any kind.

694 Tobacco As Bug Poison

Sometime ago, a tobacco company sent packages of cigarettes to some high school boys with this explanation, “We are sending you a package of our finest cigarettes. We hope you will use them to your satisfaction and want more.”

One of the boys used the cigarettes, and wrote back, “I received the package of cigarettes and used them in a quart of water, which I sprayed on our bug-infested rose bushes. Every bug died! The cigarettes are surely good poison. I want more next spring if any bugs survive!”

—Al Bryant

695 How To Shrink Dogs

“When I was in Paris some years ago,” said a noted lecturer, “I met a man who had very tiny dogs for sale. I asked him why they were so abnormally small.

“At first he refused to tell me, fearing that I would divulge his secret or become his business competitor. I convinced him that I was simply in pursuit of knowledge. Then, with many cautions, he confided to me his process for producing these very tiny dwarfs.

““You see, I put a little speck of nicotine in their food when they are quite young. Then I add a little more, and a little more, and then they never get big.””

“But doesn’t the nicotine ever kill them?”

““Oh, yes, many of them die; but I get a big price for the little fellows that live.””

—White Ribbon

696 Tobacco Spitting Contest

Geore Craft, of Raleigh, Miss., won the national long-range tobacco spitting title for a straight eleventh time recently.

Craft’s 11th victory, however, was dulled a bit by the fact that he achieved a distance of only 21 feet 3 inches—good enough to win, but nowhere near his official record of 24 feet, 10–3/4 inches made in an earlier championship competition.

Craft sportingly refused to blame his relatively short carry on atmospheric conditions, wind drift, or to the fact that he is now 67 and possibly may have lost a little of his old spittin’ polish.

Seven hundred persons witnessed the contest which was the only contest in the world where the winner doesn’t get kissed by a pretty girl.

697 Getting The Last Puff

There is an annual world’s championship of the International Association of Pipe Smokers’ Clubs.

The contestants, armed with 3.3 grams of special contest tobacco and two kitchen matches, have sixty seconds to get their pipes lit. The winner is the gentleman or woman who emits the last puff of smoke.

The record was two hours, five minutes, seven seconds set by the late Max Igree of Flint, Michigan, in 1954.

698 Tobacco In Heaven?

“Can a man chew tobacco and go to Heaven?” was a question put to Mr. Moody. His reply, though not elegant and a bit jolting, about covers the situation. “Yes,” answered Mr. Moody, “but he would have to go to hell to spit!”

—Walter B. Knight

699 Secondhand Gum, Anyone?

An evangelist was riding on a plane filled with people, cigarette smoke and defiled air. The evangelist knew he would have to take a bath, and send his clothes to the cleaners. He felt like he had been charcoal-broiled.

Suddenly he turned to a woman and said, “Would you like to chew my gum for awhile?”

The lady was insulted. “What in the world do you mean?” she snapped.

The evangelist calmly replied, “I’ve been smoking your secondhand smoke ever since we left the city. I thought you might want my secondhand gum.”

—Selected

GIVING UP ON TOBACCO

700 Sort Of “Smokers Anonymous”

From Seattle to New England, there is a movement among the throngs of dry-throated smokers. It is a kind of Alcoholics Anonymous for smokers. The approach is simple.

Penitents go into groups of 25, under the buddy system: everyone who signs up gets the phone number of one other member, and pledges himself to check daily on his buddy’s progress. Smokers must repeat—in unison at meetings, and countless times a day—”I choose to give up smoking,” as evidence that they are exercising their will power.

Along with the will power goes a spartan regime, which specifies rhythmic breathing, with brisk walks, warm baths, cold rubdowns and a good night’s rest. There is also a walloping dose of what sounds like near vegetarianism: a drink of warm water on awakening, only fresh fruit for breakfast (no coffee! ), at least three glasses of water or juice during the morning, a sandwich and salad for lunch, more water or juice, and for dinner only light soup, fruit or green salad, with nothing heavier than cottage cheese. Liquor is absolutely banned. So are pepper, mustard and other spices, along with spiced meats and rich desserts.

But there will never be a formal organization known as Smokers Anonymous. Once a smoker has shaken his habit, he is not about to remain anonymous. He is only too willing to tell the nicotine-stained how, through will power, he gave up the weed.

—Time

701 Postponing The Temptation

An Army doctor in Texas has suggested a method for losing the tobacco habit which might work for some people. Each day the smoker postpones for one hour longer that first cigarette.

On the first day, as many cigarettes as desired may be smoked. On the second day, the first cigarette is put off for one hour, but after that the smoker consumes as many as he wishes. On the third day, no cigarettes are smoked until two hours after rising, but, again, as many thereafter as are craved. If the program is carried out, smoking will cease in about two weeks. The theory is that, if the smoker can consume an unlimited number of cigarettes after his period of abstinence, he loses his fear of the program.

—Ladies’ Home Journal

702 Good Psychology: “I Have, They Don’t”

In 1952 a book was published under the title of Eisenhower written by Gunther, in which the author reveals that President Eisenhower had been a heavy smoker but because of failing health had been ordered to give up the habit. So Eisenhower quit. His health immediately improved, and he never went back to the habit.

Mr. Gunther related a conversation he had with the President shortly before publication of the book, in which he asked him if when in the company of others who were smoking he felt he was missing something, if it was difficult to refrain from smoking. To this Mr. Eisenhower replied, “No, I just think. “I had the will power to quit, and they haven’t.””

—Evangelistic Illustration

703 “Lighting Up” Students’ Futures

In the town of Randolph, Mass., a local high school wanted to set up a scholarship fund for local boys and girls. Under the slogan, “Light up a student’s Future, Not a Cigarette,” the town’s residents who smoked were asked to give up cigarettes for one day, giving the money saved to the scholarship fund. Every church in Randolph endorsed the plan, and cigarette counters in many stores were draped in black. In one day, $35,000 was received.

704 Pretending Also Helps

As I sat beside a man on a long bus trip, I noticed that every half hour or so he would check his watch, then twist his foot on the floor as if he were crushing a cigarette. Fascinated, I finally asked him what he was doing.

“Well,” he said patiently, “I’m trying to quit smoking. So, every time I get the urge to smoke, I pretend I’m just putting out a cigarette, and it kills the urge. Two weeks ago, I put out 30 imaginary cigarettes a day. Now I’m down to 28!”

—Reader’s Digest

705 First Class Quitting

Texas businessman Frank O Donnell once quite smoking. As part of the ritual of reinforcing his will power, he has been putting 60 cents into a jar each morning. This represents a pack and a half of cigarettes at 40 cents a pack and is a visual reminder of how much he is saving.

The other morning his young son Mike questioned the honesty of this. “You buy them at cut rate,” said Mike. “You don’t save that much.”

“My boy,” advised O’Donnell firmly, “when you quit anything, quit first class.”

—Dallas Morning News

706 Diagnosing Wrong Creature?

One unusual reason for giving up smoking is that of a Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., woman who quit because of her pet macaw. It developed a persistent cough. A veterinarian checked the macaw and determined that it didn’t have pneumonia or psittacosis, two of the possibilities that worried her. The final diagnosis was that the macaw was imitating the cough of its cigarette-smoking owner.

—San Diego Tribune

See also: Alcoholism.