It was in 1964 that the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking was published. Called Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, this report recognized the proven link between smoking and lung cancer.
So we’ve had over 50 years to learn about the negative health effects of smoking. Is there anyone not aware of such effects?
That’s why the headline in today’s Wall Street Journal was so surprising:
Cigarette Sales Rose in 2020 for First Time in 20 Years
Seriously?
Now I know the past year has been a challenging one for many people, but starting or increasing the amount you smoke seems like a poor decision to make in the middle of a pandemic. Particularly when the pandemic is one that could potentially affect your respiratory system. If anything, you would think that cigarette smoking would have decreased during such a crisis.
I guess it proves once again that people are not rational, and I am sure the tobacco companies are grateful for that.
But let’s close on a happier note.
Who can forget this classic moment from Wimbledon:
*image from Twitter
In my country. The income from cigarettes is staggering. Although some reports of cigarette companies say they continue to experience a decline in sales.
But I think it’s just a trick to get them out of the big taxes.
In reality, cigarette sales continue to increase. Directly proportional to the health problems caused by smoking. Including lung cancer.
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cigarettes are big business in the U.S. as well. and they are a meance to public health…
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John McEnroe acted like a brat on the court, but he was a heck of a player. He’s an engaging interview and a good tennis analyst these days.
Stress seems to lead to poor decisions. Think of all of the other things people do when the evidence is clear that they shouldn’t. Drinking and driving come to mind, and that can affect plenty of innocent people.
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McEnroe was a great player, and he’s become an engaging analyst.
And we all make bad decision, smoking is one I just don’t get though…
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McEnroe just needed a cigarette.
Big picture- When I graduated from high school, 42% of people smoked. Now it’s about a third of that.
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I’m not sure even a cigarette would have calmed McEnroe down.
And it is nice to know that cigarette smoking has declined, but I’m always stunned when a young person starts smoking…
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Heartbreaking.😥
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I’ve never understood smoking. I’m all for legalizing drugs, but I wouldn’t mind if cigarettes were illegal, as second-hand smoke can be lethal. When someone lights up, I just want to holler in their face, “You cannot be serious!”
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I’m with you regarding drugs and cigarettes. Maybe “You cannot be serious” should be the new warning label on cigarette packages…
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I’d love to see a warning label like that.
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👍
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Like Pete said, stress can lead to awful decisions! Lots of people don’t think rationally when dealing with stress. Just need to find better coping methods, because one thing that this world is always going to have is stress, unfortunately!
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maybe people who are feeling stressed should take up blogging…
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Great idea! 🙂 Once they meet all the crazy people in the blogging world they will forget their stress!
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👍
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Maybe a cigarette company can put out a study touting the benefits that will flow from more premature deaths.
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no cigarette company would have the nerve to do something like that! 🙂
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i attribute it to people feeling overstressed and out of sorts from whatever situation they found themselves in with the pandemic, politics, or who knows what- or just being stupid
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too bad they can’t find healthier ways to deal with the stress…
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This rise in sales may be representative of more people being home or working from home where corporate smoke-free policies do not exist. Most can handle a few hours between cigarette breaks in the office, but on the weekends they are not so curtailed. I agree the data seems counter-intuitive, but so much does these days!
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that’s true, all that working from home probably made it easier to get ina few moew cigarettes during the day; hopefully the novelty will wear off and they can cut back on the extra smoking…
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I’m certain I read a study on people who’d survived a heart attack making little/no behaviour changes – though I’m having trouble finding it, so my thoughts can be dismissed as theory but…
I think there is an element of ‘it won’t happen to me because… I do it in moderation / my grandma smoked 40 a day and lived till she was 83’ etc.
I also think people do a cost/benefit justification in their head ‘I know this is bad, but it gives me pleasure and reduces stress…’
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I am sure there must be a little of that cost/benefit justification going on, otherwise it seems like no one would smoke…
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Benefitting from technology all these years later, that serve was clearly out. I started vandalizing my mother’s cigarettes by the time I was seven. She quit by the early seventies, the reports coming out were so clear. I’ve never understood the allure of cigarettes, and believe me, I’ve had plenty of unhealthy addictions. But this one makes zero sense. A vile habit, no better than spitting.
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I was curious if anyone has done an analysis of that serve…
and yes, smoking makes zero sense to me…
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I wonder if this rise is attributed to new people smoking or to smokers smoking more. I would suspect the latter since being at home you have less restrictions on how much and where you can smoke. So with this in mind, no new stupidity, just more of the same ones.
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I would agree with you that it is more smoking being done by people who already smoke…
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I had read an article a couple of years ago that the big new market for cigarette manufacturers was Asia where sales were increasing. Maybe now they are off the charts.
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I remember hearing from someone who visited China that it seemed like everyone was smoking…
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Yes China is a huge market for the cigarette industry.
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and probably not as regulated as the U.S.
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Like others, I guess this was more likely to be people trying to kill themselves more quickly at home than people taking up the habit. Time to be alone with that Strand again!
That McEnroe outburst was so typical of him. We were there the first year he played Wimbledon, and were walking from Centre to No.1 courts while he was playing – he could be heard from the walkway!
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I would love to attend a tennis match at either Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. McEnroe was one of the few American players I rooted against because his behavior was so boorish.
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I’ve never been to the States but have been to Wimbledon many times over the years. It’s a magical place and I’ve seen some great matches there, going back to the days of Borg, Nastase, Connors, McEnroe and many others. McEnroe did tend to divide opinion, didn’t he!
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It does seem like a great place to watch a tennis match…
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It is. And I’m sure Flushing Meadows is too, even if they did name it after a toilet…
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it is a terrible name… 🙂
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It could have been better…
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👍
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I felt the same way, yet I loved Jimmy Connors, who was also brash…
If you go to Wimbledon, let me know. I’ll go with you!
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I agree; it is likely existing smokers increasing their intake.
and I usually like cocky athletes – like Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Connors, but something about McEnroe just turned me off. He was a great player and he seems to be doing a good job as an analyst
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There’s a distinction for me between cocky and big headed. I think both you mention were the latter, but I agree McEnroe is doing a fair job as a pundit. If only his voice wasn’t so nauseating!
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Maybe it’s super confident people I like who can back up their words…
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A fair assessment, but I still don’t like loudmouths no matter how good they are!
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Yes, I know what you mean. but sometimes they do add a bit of fun to the proceedings…
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They are good for throwing things at the tv 😊
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there you go 🙂
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That is concerning – I wonder what the stats are on healthier activities. Are people exercising more as a whole as well? Stress is funny – it can have such a varied effect on different people.
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that’s a great point; I think COVID did cause more people to try and get outside and do things, but you’re right, some people seemed to go in the opposite direction and increase their smoking…
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There was a ban on cigarette sales here for months at the beginning of the pandemic. Needless to say, the black market thrived.
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I am sur ethe tobacco companies were not happy about such a ban…
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https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2021/20210714.htm
Lots of bad stuff with drugs last year.
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wow – 2020 is a year to forget…
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I think the man’s a genius …he will always be remembered not always liked but remembered…as for smoking *#-,,,*?#???
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McEnroe was a great player; I wonder what the other players thought of him…
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As I wasn’t a fly on the wall.. I guess there were 2 camps he certainly divided opinions… 😀
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it seems like tennis players tend not to bad mouth each other very often…
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I saw the same headline about increasing cigarette sales. Unbelievable stat!
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but I just read the latest numbers showing it is dropping once again…
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I doubt statistics will change behavior- ever. And speaking of behavior, John McEnroe’s back then was pretty bad.
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yes, he was the poster child of being a spoiled brat. But he seems to have redeemed himself…
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It seems so.
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