Remember fifty years ago when everyone smoked?
Since tobacco found its way into Europe in the sixteenth century,
smoking has been a controversial issue. Fifty years ago, almost everyone
smoked, and fifty years before that, smokers were in the doghouse; up
until the early twentieth century, cigarettes were illegal in a number
of U.S. states.
Needless to say, smoking has always been a ready source of revenue. It
has also been a source of health concerns, both real and imagined.
This mixture of pleasure, money and risk that comes with the act of
smoking means that it's rarely treated fairly by politicians, health
professionals or the public. Nowadays, tough anti-smoking laws are to be
obeyed in most corners of the globe.
The misinformation about, and unreasoning hostility directed at, smoking
and smokers is one of the major concerns of this book. After all,
smoking has no public cost. Isn't it just the individual smokers who are
at risk?
Prompted by this burgeoning fascination, Staddon looks further into the
facts. And the more he looks, the weaker the case against smoking as a
public health issue becomes.
Is ETS really dangerous to children? And if so, how can science prove
it? And if smoking has no public cost and the medical case for
third-party harm is weak, why are smokers still being victimised?
In this provocative, thought-provoking book, Staddon is determined to
uncover the truth about smoking. But the truth's not always pretty.
