[ExI] Is tobacco really harmful?

Sockpuppet99@hotmail.com sockpuppet99 at hotmail.com
Fri Nov 27 12:16:47 UTC 2009


Well, it sure sounds like you've convinced yourself--all evidence be  
damned-- that tobacco is safe. Not sure how it follows from that that  
anyone besides you ought to smoke, since there are many better, less  
socially offensive, less expensive and more enjoyable things for  
people to do with their bodies, that don't shorten and may lengthen  
the life span. How ironic that one should have to tell that to an  
extropian!

But if you are determined to smoke, I go back to my original email and  
encourage you to serve as a one-man longitudinal study of American  
Spirit brand cigarettes for us. I would think that if smoking is  
beneficial, you ought to shoot for two packs a day for maximum  
benefit. I'd love to know how that turns out for you.

Cheers

Tom D




Sent from my iPod

On Nov 26, 2009, at 10:17 PM, Robert Masters <rob4332000 at yahoo.com>  
wrote:

>
>
> Well, it's quite a story, but it has a happy ending.
>
> Around the time I started thinking seriously about that list of 599  
> cigarette additives (many of them carcinogens), I finally asked the  
> obvious question:  Why the hell are they in there in the first place?
>
> And I have no idea what the answer is.  It seems to me that a case  
> could be made that someone (the tobacco companies? the FTC?) is  
> responsible for a lot of misery and death.  The phrase "full-scale  
> Congressional investigation" comes to mind.
>
> But that's not what I'm interested in.  The happy news is a story of  
> heroic American capitalism: a few cigarette companies, led by  
> American Spirit, have finally started selling additive-frees.   
> They're an option now, and I see no reason not to smoke them.
>
> At least that's my choice.  It could be argued that there might be  
> dangerous effects of tobacco even without the 599 mysterious toxins,  
> and anyone who's worried about that is free to choose the other way.
>
> The reaction to additive-frees, American Spirit in particular, has  
> been bizarre.  The FTC has required the brand to put a statement on  
> its pack that "no additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer  
> cigarette."  Removing a bunch of carcinogens doesn't mean a safer  
> cigarette?  You figure it out.
>
> The attitude of tobacco "scientists," if that's what they are, has  
> been equally peculiar.  They did some study showing American Spirits  
> raised subjects' NICOTINE levels more than conventional brands, and  
> trumpeted that with the headline "Additive-Free Cigarettes May Pack  
> a More Toxic Punch"--but my understanding is that nicotine isn't the  
> health problem with cigarettes at all.  (One website, following that  
> line, came up with the catchy phrase "crack nicotine.")
>
> I'll close with a testimonial by a satisfied American Spirit smoker:
>
> http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum10009/1654.htm
>
> "The first thing I noticed when I lit one up was that it was less  
> smokey and it burnt more slowly. I also noticed that there was not  
> the same level of after-taste and 'smokers breath'. The taste itself  
> was the real surprise, I now realise what its like to smoke a real  
> cigarette. It reminded me of the pleasure of smoking, which I had  
> long forgotten. After a few smokes I noticed that my head didn't  
> seem blocked and and I felt less choked by it."
>
>
> Rob Masters
>
>
>
>
>
>
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