A recent World Health Organization study details the dangers of smoking, and to assess possible global risks from smoking, it lists the proportion of smokers in different countries:
The study, conducted between 2008 and 2010, found that across 14 developing nations, 49% of men and 11% of women used tobacco. Most of them smoked — 41% of men and 5% of women.
Numbers were highest in Russia, where 60% of men and 22% of women used tobacco; China, where 53% of men and 2% of women were tobacco users; Ukraine, where 50% of men and 11% of women used tobacco, and Turkey, where 48% of men and 15% of women used tobacco.
In some countries, smoking rates may now be even higher than they were in 2010, WHO officials say.
That brings us to today’s poll: do you smoke? I’ll note that I’m asking about tobacco, as that’s the subject of the WHO study, but you may answer more generally if you’d like.
For me, the answer’s ‘no.’ How about you?
An occasional cigar, cigarette or pipe is a guilty pleasure that should not be verboten, as long as it doesn’t endanger others.
I don’t smoke but I believe others should be able to, even if that’s a risky choice.
Pipe smoking is still classy
Tobacco is a drug! Hardest one to quit once youre hooked.
Yes, for many it’s a lifelong challenge.
I really like the Russell Crowe and Al Pacino film, the Insider (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140352/), that describes the efforts of former vice president of research Jeffrey Wigand of Brown & Williamson to reveal the addictive properties of that company’s products. It’s a fictionalized account, but well-acted and compelling.
In the film as in his life, Wigand found himself battling some of the most powerful executies in the country over what he knew to be true. It’s a truly compelling account.