Cigarettes Don't Kill People

I'm tired of hearing the myth that cigarettes kill people. It reminds me of the old myth that cold temperatures cause colds.

The smoking issue is not as simple as the anti-smokers portray it.   It can involve more than just addiction to nicotine.

If smoking kills people why do so many smokers live to be over 60?

 Looking at substances that sometimes kill people demonstrates how substances can kill people directly. 

For most of us peanuts are a delicious and nutritious snack.  However, for some people with a peanut allergy peanuts can be one of the world's deadliest poisons.

College fraternity hazing incidents sometimes have someone die from drinking too much alcohol.  Combining sleeping pills and alcohol creates a deadly cocktail.

Overdoses of prescription drugs and drugs like heroin kill thousands  a year.

I have never had any connection to the tobacco industry.  I have never smoked, owned any tobacco company assets or worked in a facility that sold tobacco products.  People I cared about have died from medical conditions associated with tobacco use.
On a personal level I don't understand how people can enjoy smoking, but then smokers might not understand why I like jalapeno slices in my breakfast eggs.  On the scientific level I recognize a genetic condition that many smokers have may make smoking  a virtual necessity for them.  

Smoking is blamed for causing lung cancer even though fewer than 10% of smokers  get lung cancer.  In an extensive British study only half of smokers died of conditions associated with smoking.  If cigarettes killed people why would they kill some, but not others?

Cold temperatures don't automatically cause colds, but may make the body more vulnerable to colds.  Cold temperatures can force the body to divert energy to keeping warm which may reduce the body's ability to fight the cold virus.

Perhaps cigarettes merely increase some smokers' vulnerability to certain medical disorders.  For example, smoking may not actually cause cells to become cancerous.   Instead, the nicotine in cigarettes is capable of aiding  the growth of cancers caused by some other factor, such as asbestos.   Smokers may be more likely to take jobs which expose them  to  carcinogens.   Smoking may accelerate aging of some body parts in older smokers. 

Evaluating the relative health impact of smoking isn't as straight forward as tobacco critics assume because smokers often have a significant genetic difference from non-smokers.  Smokers tend to have what is called the"risk taker" or "trill seeker" version of the DRD4(Dopamine Receptor D4] gene.   Comparing risk taker smokers to non-risk taker non-smokers could produce an inaccurate result. Risk taking smokers conceivably could have a higher life expectancy than non-smoking risk takers, particularly those who are alcoholics or drug users.  .

Research is mixed on the existence of risk takers because how people take risks can vary. Individuals  may not consciously choose activities because they are "risky".    An individual may instead choose activities that they describe as "exciting" or "challenging".

Most people aren't athletic enough to participate in obviously risky activities like mountain climbing or skiing.  Some people take risky jobs like fire fighting.   Others prefer to take risks by gambling or having multiple sex partners.  Some men seek thrills by going out in public dressed as women.  The portrayal of smoking as a dangerous activity makes smoking attractive to young risk takers who don't feel they could physically or mentally handle other "risky" activities..  Young people often feel they can avoid the negative affects of whatever actions they take.   Alcohol and drugs like heroin appeal to other risk takers.

Criticism of smoking focuses on physical health. The risk taker gene and smoking may also impact mental health. The risk taker gene that smokers often have has a connection to mental health problems such as ADHD. (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).    Nicotine can have a calming effect and reduce anger.  

Risk taking isn't the only potential threat to a person's health.  The opposite of risk taking is boredom which can have a strong negative impact.  It might even be possible to be bored to death.  People who attempt to quit smoking sometimes experience depression and suicidal thoughts attributed to nicotine withdrawal. For risk takers these conditions might also indicate boredom due to removal of risk generated excitement

Anti-smokers treat smoking as just a "nasty" unhealthy habit.  However, smoking is actually a complex behavior that some may need because of a genetic brain condition.

NBA and Media Beat Up Man Fighting Cancer

Did the NBA in effect punish L.A. Clippers 80 year old owner Donald Sterling because he is fighting prostate cancer?

The NBA has voted to force L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling to sell his team because of a secret  recording  in which he told his black girl friend he didn't want her to be seen in public, such as at Clippers games, with black men such as former basketball star Magic Johnson.  He said he didn't mind her going to bed with such men.   He just didn't  want her to be in public with them.   

I don't know the specifics of the current status of  Sterling's prostate cancer, but it is possible his condition or treatment caused his comments to his girl friend V. Stiviano.   I don't know if Sterling was undergoing chemotherapy at the time of  his comments or whether the condition known as "chemo brain" might have affected his statement.

Prostate cancer can adversely affect a man's sexual abilities which could be particularly frustrating for a man who associates with an attractive young woman.  NBA players have a reputation, at least among some comics, of being very sexually active. This reputation is due in part to former players such as Magic Johnson bragging about their sexual activities.   I suspect that the reputation is exaggerated and based in part on racist beliefs about black men,  but Sterling could have been especially frustrated seeing Stiviano with men whom he believed could easily do what he might be unable to do because of his cancer.

We aren't always consciously aware of why we feel a certain way or say certain things.  The reasons may be locked in our subconscious.   People sometimes hire professionals like tv's Dr. Phil to learn why they feel the way they do.    Sterling may not have been consciously aware  of why he said what he did to Stiviano and may have a mental block that prevents him from understanding why some people are upset by the statement.

Sterling's statement to Stiviano sounds more like frustration and jealousy than racism.  He said he didn't mind her being with black men so long as he didn't see her with them. He was saying he  didn't want her reminding him that someone else might be able to satisfy her in ways he would like to but  cannot because of his cancer.   He was probably too embarrassed to talk about his frustration to Stiviano  directly.  He was asking her in an intimate conversation to not do something that hurt him without explaining why that action hurt him.   

The NBA's action against Sterling might be justifiable if he had made a public statement.  However, the NBA had no business punishing Sterling for an intimate statement made to a close personal friend that may have been misrepresented by sensation seeking journalists who think everybody is as motivated by so-called "racial" differences as they are.   It is the media that continues to push the myth that differences in skin color constitute racial differences by referring to  Americans of different complexions as being of different races.  

Stress can cause all of us to say things we don't really mean.   We may even say things that hurt those we would not think of hurting in normal circumstances.   Fighting cancer can be an extremely stressful situation.
    
 Many of us were raised to believe that you shouldn't kick a man when he is down.   America's media sharks seem to believe that is the best time to attack because the victim is less able to defend himself. 

It would serve the NBA right if cancer survivors and those currently fighting cancer would boycott the NBA for mistreating a cancer patient.