Stop

Smoking:

Going
Beyond
the
Smokescreen
 Notice of Copyright and License to Copy

© Copyright 1997
by
Arthur J. D'Adamo

http://www.adamford.com/nosmoke

Electronic Mail Addresses:

Internet: art@adamford.com
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Internet: dadama01@imsint.com
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"Stop Smoking: Going Beyond the Smokescreen"
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In other words, you can copy this article, print it, sell it or give it away, copy the electronic
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All Rights Reserved Except as Noted Above

Published 1997
 Contents

Part I: STOP SMOKING! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

My story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Ambush! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Guerrilla warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The mysterious Madame X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Some ways of stopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
How I did it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Getting Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Taking the plunge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Being careful on easy street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
About Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Part 2: Going Beyond the Smokescreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Why do people smoke? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The health effects of smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
But if they're so bad, why are they legal? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
What a lot of people don't know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Magazine, newspapers, and smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How tobacco advertising warps newspaper and magazine coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Magazines and newspapers watching what they say . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Table 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tobacco branches out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Getting new customers - teenagers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Getting them hooked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Some References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
 Part I: STOP SMOKING!
This article has two parts.
This part is for people who want to stop smoking. It describes a simple, powerful method of
kicking the cigarette habit. It doesn't tell you why you should stop; Part 2 does that.
So, if you already want to stop smoking, there's no need to read Part 2, unless you want to. But
read this part because it tells you everything you need to know about a unique and powerful stop-
smoking method..

My story
How can you stop smoking? Well, one method is the one described in this article. It worked for
me, and I hope it works for you, too. How powerful is it? Well, I haven't
had a cigarette since 1974. Not one drag.
You can do it, too.
I started smoking about 1963, when I was still in high school. In fact,
when my parents asked me what I wanted for graduation I said I wanted to
be able to smoke in the house. From about 1964 to 1972 I smoked about a
pack a day. In 1972 I decided I'd stop smoking on my 24th birthday, in
October. It was hard but I did it, I went "cold turkey."
Then, one cold January morning in 1973 I stood in the street and
watched my apartment burn. The chimney had caught fire. I nervously
bummed a cigarette from a neighbor, and together we watched the fire.
In a few weeks I was back to a pack a day.
When I told you I haven't had a cigarette since 1974 remember how I added that I haven't had
even one drag? That's important. I couldn't risk even one drag. And after you've quit, you probably
can't risk it either. Let me say a little more about this point because it's very, very important.
Thinking "just one puff won't do any harm" is probably the main reason a lot of people start
smoking again after they've quit. It's a tragedy. A person gets through the hard part - the first few
days, the first week or two - and then they lose all that effort because they think one puff won't hurt
them. They're in a bar with friends, or maybe they’ve just finished a meal, and the urge to smoke
hits them, real bad. They think "I haven't had a cigarette in 10 days." (Or three months, or
whatever.) They decide, "I've been good, so I deserve one." Or maybe they think "I've got to have a
cigarette. If I don't this urge will last and last and eventually drive me crazy." Whatever the reason,
they take a drag.
The rest, as they say, is history.
It's a real tragedy. Because after you've gone a week or two without a cigarette, the urge WON'T
last, not for very long. It just SEEMS like it will last forever. But it won't.
And it's a real tragedy because taking even one drag is all a lot of people need to get started
again.
I emphasize this point because if you don't realize it, you can waste a lot of effort. Worse yet,
you can become discouraged and think "I'll never quit." It's not true. Anyone can quit, with enough
effort and with enough knowledge.
So, you should know that after you've reached the first week or two without a cigarette things
Stop Smoking 6

will be a lot easier. You'll go for hours, maybe even days, without feeling like having one. In fact,
for long periods of time, you may not think of them at all.
Here's the time to be careful! Again, let me tell you my experience.
I quit for the second (and I'm happy to say, last) time in 1974. I quit that time using the method
in this article. The first few weeks were the roughest.
After about two weeks (it's hard to remember exactly, after all, this was many years ago) I'd think
of cigarettes now and then. But I was feeling so good about not smoking, so proud, so optimistic,
that I didn't worry too much about my occasional cigarette craving. A big mistake! I should have
been worried, I should have been on my guard.

Ambush!
One night I had just eaten dinner. I sat back and all of a sudden I wanted a cigarette. Not just
wanted, but WANTED. I felt like I'd pay $100 for one, if I had to. There
weren't any around the house, so I put my jacket on and started to walk to
my car.
Suddenly, I caught myself. I realized what I was doing and caught
myself. My heart was beating fast. And it beat faster after I realized what
had happened! I'd almost started on the road back to smoking! After all
that effort, after all those weeks, I'd almost reached for that suicidal first
drag.
If I had been with friends, in a bar, or anywhere else where a cigarette
was easily available, I would have had one in my mouth before I realized
what I was doing. The urge was that powerful!
It shook me up! I thought I had beat the habit. I was relaxing, thinking
the fight was practically finished. Yet, in a moment, my new-found freedom from tobacco could
have ended, instead. I realized then that if I'd had that cigarette, or even a puff, I'd be back to a pack
a day in a few weeks. It had happened before. I didn't want it to happen again!
The other thing that shook me up was that it was over so quickly. The urge came, it seemed like
it would last forever, like I HAD TO HAVE A CIGARETTE, and then it vanished, just like that! I
could have lost all my work to an urge that didn't even last for five minutes.
That was when I realized the fight wasn't over. The hard part of the fight was over, but not the
sneaky part. I could go for hours, days, even weeks without wanting a cigarette, without even
thinking of one, but at any time the urge for one could hit me, real strong.

Guerrilla warfare
And hit me they did. In the morning, in the daytime, in the evening. Not
every day. Not even every week. But for over a year, maybe closer to two,
they would come. And when they did, I'd want a cigarette bad, real bad.
Luckily, I never gave in. And it wasn't just luck, because I prayed too.
If you're religious, it certainly won't hurt to add prayer to the method I'm
going to explain for giving up smoking (or to any other method). If you
aren't religious, do whatever it takes to psyche yourself up. Pray to your
higher self, if you can.
The urges came. And they went. They never lasted more than a few
Stop Smoking 7

minutes. And each one scared me because they seemed so strong when they were there, but then
went away so quickly.
I mean, if the urge was that strong and was really going to last forever, then it would make sense
to start smoking again. Better that than going crazy! But the damn thing was (excuse my French)
that they only SEEMED like they were going to last forever. They never lasted more than a few
minutes. To start smoking again to satisfy an urge (however strong) that's going to vanish in a few
minutes anyway seems to me a real tragedy - all that effort, all that fighting, down the drain (or up
in smoke). So needlessly.
So remember, etch it in your mind, that once you've gone a week or two without cigarettes the
big fight is over. But the sneaky part isn't. You're liable to be ambushed at any moment. If you
don't want to start smoking again, you've got to be careful.
After you've stopped be extra, extra careful at those times when a cigarette used to taste extra
good, like after a satisfying meal, or after sex, or when you're at a party and need something to do
with your hands, or when you're drinking with friends.
Drinking, by the way, is an especially dangerous time. Why? One, because a person who's had a
bit to drink may easily do things they'd wouldn't do when they're sober. Two, if you're in a bar
you're inhaling second-hand smoke. That's dangerous because it can give you the desire for a
cigarette. It's like when smelling the aroma of a turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving makes your
mouth water, makes you want to have some turkey. Second-hand smoke is like that. It's very
dangerous to be around it after you've stopped smoking, because it might make you want a
cigarette.
After the first two weeks or so, you've got to constantly be on your guard for the ambush, the
sneaky part, the stupid urge that seems so powerful, like it's going to last forever, but will actually
be gone in a few minutes, not to return for days or even weeks. But it's sure to return some time
when you don't expect it, when you aren't on guard, when you feel like saying "I've been good.
What can one puff do?" (a lot!) or "I REALLY GOT TO HAVE A CIGARETTE" (you don't).
I emphasize this so much because a lot of people I know made it through the first days, week, or
months, and then started smoking again.

The mysterious Madame X

A woman I know stopped smoking. I'd talk to her regularly and she'd mention how long it'd been.
One week. Two weeks. One month. Once, something in her voice seemed
to say she wasn’t really sure of what she'd just said. She had just told me it
was two months since she'd stopped smoking. I said, "Fine. That's how
long it's been since you stopped smoking. Now tell me this. How long has
it been since you had your last cigarette drag?"
"Oh," she said, "last Friday night, at a bar. But, you know, it was nothing.
Just a little one. I have little drags now and then."
Yea, I knew.
Now she hides her smoking from her relatives because she doesn't want
them to know she's smoking again.
Once you've made it through the first few days, once you feel you've
done it and you have the smoking habit licked, remember: YOU DON'T.
You have the hard part done. But now you've got to get through the sneaky
Stop Smoking 8

part.
A cigarette urge is just waiting for a moment when you're tired, or annoyed, or not paying
attention, or feeling so good that you don't want to deny yourself anything. And then it will say
YOU MUST HAVE A CIGARETTE, OR AT THE VERY LEAST A PUFF, RIGHT NOW! THIS
URGE IS STRONG, AND IT ISN'T GOING TO GO AWAY UNTIL YOU GIVE IN. SO DO IT
OR YOU'LL GO CRAZY.
It's a lie! A dirty stinking lie! If you don't give in, in a few minutes the urge will pass. And you'll
be fine. You may be scared that for a minute or two you almost gave in but, aside from that, you'll
be fine. SO, DON'T DO IT!! DON’T TAKE THAT DRAG!!
Because if you do, you'll be on the long slide down. It will be hell. In a few days or weeks you'll
be smoking again.
So remember, don't lose all you've done. IT WILL PASS.
One final remark and I'll move on. After you've gone a few days without a cigarette, it wouldn't
do any harm to read these few pages again. Maybe even read them every night before you go to
bed. Tell yourself you're doing it! You've just gone another day without a cigarette. That day may
have been hell, but the days will get easier. Or maybe you can find a "buddy," someone you can tell
all this to, who you could call up if you're feeling like you need a cigarette, who would talk you out
of it.
One by one. One day at a time, it'll get easier. In a week or so, things won't be so bad. But
remember how you suffered. And remember - promise yourself - that when you're on easy street,
when the days are passing easy, when you don't constantly think about smoking, promise yourself
you won't give in to the stupid urge that can hit you at any time. Reread these pages and promise
yourself that when things are easy you won't blow all your effort, all your pain, on a stupid lying
urge that will pass in a few minutes.
O.K. Enough. That's what you do after you've been cigarette-free for a few days or weeks, after
the urge to smoke isn't a constant thing. But what do you do to reach that point? How do you give
up smoking?

Some ways of stopping

Some people can just stop, just go "cold turkey." I did, the first time I stopped smoking. And if I'd
known then all I've just told you about the sneaky little urges to smoke that
ambush you, that look so big and bad but are really punks who will be gone
in a minute, if I had known that, I might have never started smoking again.
Besides cold turkey, there are lots of other methods for giving up
smoking. There are books you can read; I've listed a few on the last page.
There are products you can buy, support groups you can join. You can
educate yourself and learn the health dangers of smoking (if it doesn't depress you.) You can try
lots of things. Let me tell you about a few of them in case the method I'm going to tell you about
doesn't work for you.
There are pills that make cigarettes taste bad. There's nicotine chewing gun so you don't need a
cigarette to get nicotine. Nicotine, by the way, is the thing your body craves when you haven't had
a cigarette in a while.
Another method is to join a stop-smoking program. Hospitals, schools, non-profit organizations,
and where you work are places you can look for one. And some of them have free books and
Stop Smoking 9

pamphlets about how to stop smoking, too.

If you can't find a stop-smoking program in any of those places, there are commercial
organizations that run them, like Smokenders, Smokers Anonymous and Smoke-Free Work-Sites. I
found all three of these organizations listed in the local White Pages. And the Yellow Pages had
those groups and more listed under "Smokers Information & Treatment Centers." Your phone
books may have some groups, too.
Then there are newer methods like biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis and self-hypnosis, and
behavioral modification methods.
Well, enough of other methods. It's about time we got to the method this article is about.

How I did it
The second (and last) time I stopped smoking I decided to creep up on it, to do it gradually. More
importantly, I decided to use one desire, the desire to relax, to take it easy
after a hard day's work (some people call it laziness), to fight my other
desire, the desire for a cigarette.
Here's how I did it. I'd come home at night after a hard day's work and
decide how many cigarettes I needed to make it through the night, until I
went to bed. I wasn't being a martyr or anything. I'd take as many as I
thought I needed, 2, 4, 7, or whatever - but no more - and I'd get rid of the
rest. At first I threw them away, in a trash can.
Now, I was either going to make those cigarettes I'd saved last the night,
or I was going to have to go out to get more. It should be clear now that this method doesn't work
if you buy cartons. Don't buy cartons. A lot of stop-smoking methods say that, so don't. If you're
worried about saving money, think how much money you'll save when you aren't smoking
anymore. We'll come back to this point in a minute.
I'd take out as many as I thought I needed that night, but none for the morning. So when I got up,
there were no cigarettes. It was rough, but I knew I'd have some soon, just as soon as I got dressed
and out of the house to buy them. It was rough, but possible. There just weren't any around, so I
did what I had to do, I got showered and dressed, and went out and brought some.
That's what I did when I didn't have any - except those night I went into the trash can. It was
disgusting. Or looked for butts in the ashtray. Disgusting, too. So eventually I refined my method a
bit. I'd take out the cigarettes I needed, dunk the rest under water, and then shred them into the
trash.
No way they could be rescued the next morning.
And I'd do the same to the butts in the ashtrays.

Getting Ready
After a few weeks, I was getting pretty good at it. Not having that first cigarette in the morning
wasn't so bad anymore. I was getting used to it. And I was getting by on the
few cigarettes I took out of my pack at night before I dunked and shredded
the rest. I wasn't going out at night to buy a pack.
Not every night, of course. Some nights I'd put my jacket on, get in my
car, and go buy a pack. Some nights.
But I'm a laid back (not to say lazy - hey, I work for a living) kind of guy.
Stop Smoking 10

So other nights I'd want another cigarette, but just didn't feel like going out to get it. One desire
was fighting the other. The desire to relax, to watch T.V., to read or whatever, fought the desire for
a cigarette.
That's the beauty of this method. You sit back and let one urge fight the other. Your urge to sit
back after a long day and relax naturally fights your desire for a cigarette.
Notice, also that this method was teaching me I could do without a cigarette for short periods of
time. At night, after I'd smoked my last cigarette. In the mornings, before I went out to buy the
pack of the day.
It was like using training wheels on a bicycle, or working on a tightrope with a net. I was
without cigarettes. But I knew if I wanted one bad enough, I could have one, either by going out at
night, or by hurrying out in the morning.
And it was teaching me I wasn't going to die if I didn't have a cigarette when I thought I needed
one. I knew I'd get one sooner or later. I knew I could have one anytime if I wanted one bad
enough. So, I'd feel uncomfortable, I'd feel like I wanted one, but I wouldn't feel like the world was
going to end. I knew sooner or later I'd have my next cigarette, my next fix.
I wasn't ready yet to get rid of the training wheels, to walk without a net. But I was learning to do
without for short periods of time. At the same time, I was getting ready, getting "psyched," for the
big one, when I'd go without the wheels, without the net, cold turkey.
Eventually, I was waiting longer and longer before I had my first one in the morning. At first, I'd
buy a pack and practically rip it open. Then, I got to counting to ten before I opened it. A little
thing, but it showed me again I could do without. For short periods of time.
Those short periods got longer and longer. I was getting to work and going to 9 before breaking
down. Then 10. Not every day, of course. Some days, I'd have one right after breakfast. (I often had
breakfast at work.) Or even before. But, on the average, I was waiting longer and longer.
The nights were getting better, too. I was taking out 5, or 4, or even 3. Of course, some nights I'd
overdo it. In a fit of optimism, I'd take out 2 and then find myself in the car a few hours later.
Some nights, I'd have one or two left at the end of the night. At first, I'd save one for the
morning. That made the morning easier. But eventually, I'd dunk and shred any cigarettes I had left
over and go to sleep. Because I didn't need a cigarette first thing in the morning anymore. Knowing
that made me feel good.

Taking the plunge

One day in April I went to Avalon, on the New Jersey shore of the Atlantic Ocean, to find out
about renting a place for a couple of weeks in the summer. I took a walk
along the ocean with a cigarette in my hand. On impulse, I threw the
cigarette in the ocean. Then I threw the matches. Then I shredded the pack
and threw that, too. (It was an impulse. I usually don't litter.)
That was the last time I ever had a cigarette in my hands or in my mouth.
That was it.
That day was actually easy! I was happy and feeling good. Some other days weren't so good. I
almost gave in. But I didn't.
I was already used to doing without a cigarette for a good bit of the morning. And I was used to
doing without them, mostly, for the evening. I just had to give them up in the day. It was rough at
times. I don't know what I can say to help you through the first few days. If you're like me, you'll be
Stop Smoking 11

irritable and feel a bit anxious. You may find it hard to concentrate at times. And, of course, at
times you'll want a cigarette, real bad.
Of course, you may be lucky and have an easy time of it those first few days. But if they're hard
you've just got to somehow get through them. After you've made it through 5 or 10 days things will
be easier.
So, though I didn't plan what day I'd give them up, it might be a good idea to give the day you go
cold turkey some thought. The first few days will probably be the hardest, so it's probably a good
idea not to go cold turkey when there's some stressful stuff going on in your life. On the other
hand, stressful stuff might help you take your mind off smoking. Everyone is different, and I don't
know any general rules.
But psyche yourself up the whole time you're trimming off. Every night tell yourself "Tonight I
need these cigarettes. Someday, I won't need any." And in the morning tell yourself "I'm going to
wait a bit today before I buy a pack. Someday I won't be buying any." Psyche yourself for the big
day from the moment you start this method. Think about it. Get ready for it.

Being careful on easy street

And re-read the first few pages about not giving in to a "sneak attack" before the big day, and after
you've been cigarette-free for a few days or weeks. Imagine all the
situations where you'd be tempted to take that suicidal first drag.
Imaging yourself in a bar. The person you're talking to is smoking.
You're looking at their cigarette more and more. You're about to ask them
for one. But bells go off in your head and you say you've got to go to the
bathroom or something and you get the hell out of there. At least for a
while.
Or imagine you're home alone, maybe you've just had dinner, maybe you're feeling depressed,
and you're feeling like you need one. It's been bothering you for a while. You start walking towards
the car, intending on getting a pack. Then, you turn around and call your "buddy" and tell them
you're having a bad time. They talk to you and after a while the urge has passed.
Imagine as many situations as you can. Imagine how bad you'll feel if you give in. Picture
yourself giving in and a few minutes later feeling bad, real bad, knowing you've just lost all your
hard work, wishing you hadn't taken that first drag. Now, picture yourself acting differently.
Picture warning bells going off in your head just as you're about to take that first drag. Picture
yourself throwing the cigarette on the floor, smashing it, and walking out of the room.
So, every day before the big day comes, and certainly every day after, remember what I said
about those sudden urges. As the days come and go you'll find it getting easier and easier,
EXCEPT for those "ambush" urges. Be ready for them and DON'T GIVE IN. They'll be gone
before you know it.
And every time an ambush urge comes and goes, remember it. Remember how a few minutes
ago you were almost ready to kill for a cigarette. Remember how it seemed the urge would last
forever, and how you better give in before you went crazy. And then remember how it vanished,
just like that. Think about how rotten you'd feel if you had given in to it. Remember for the next
time.
Well, that's the whole method. I'll close Part 1 by discussing a few questions and answers.
Stop Smoking 12

Questions and Answers

That's the dumbest method I ever heard. I don't have the money to throw away. Cigarettes
cost too much.
One, cigarette smoking costs too much. To make the math easy, let's suppose a pack cost $1.60.
That's 8 cents a cigarette. Which, if you smoke a pack a day, is $584 a year. In ten years, you've
spent five thousand, eight hundred, and forty dollars! Anything you spend to stop smoking will pay
off like crazy when you stop smoking! All your investments should pay off that well.
Second, many stop-smoking methods cost something. Support groups cost, nicotine gum costs.
If you're too cheap to spend a little money to stop smoking and maybe save you're life, then you're
too cheap.
But the third reason is the most important. Sure, a pack cost about $1.60, and with this method
you may be spending a little more. But consider this. After you buy that pack, those cigarettes are
going one of two places. Either in your lungs or in the trash. Sure, if you have 11 cigarettes when
you come home from work, you have 11 * 8 cents = 88 cents. If you take 4 out, and throw the
other 7 away, you're throwing away 7 * 8 = 56 cents.
Or are you? You aren't going to go sell those cigarettes on a street corner for 8 cents a piece, are
you? Of course, not. So, they are yours forever. They're going in your lungs or in the trash. Where
do you want them to go? It's that simple.
If the money really bothers you, then think that you're spending 56 cents on your health. Your
lungs will be that much healthier. Or think that you've just paid 56 cents towards your stop-
smoking fund.
And here's another reason that may be even more important. When you throw cigarettes away
you are training yourself to see them for the trash they are. Think about it. Tobacco companies
spend BILLIONS of dollars on advertising every year to convince you that cigarettes are smart,
cool, enjoyable, desirable and valuable. Billions of dollars for magazine ads, newspaper ads, and
highway billboards. Billions of dollars to say cigarettes and pleasure go together. Billions of
dollars to say cigarettes and fun go together. Billions of dollars to say cigarettes and manhood,
western-style macho, go together. Billions of dollars to say cigarettes and women's liberation go
together. Newspapers tell you this. Magazines tell you it. Highway billboards tell you.
You may reject it, but the message can seep in anyway, into your subconscious. How can you
fight all this tobacco-company propaganda? How can you "reprogram" yourself to see cigarettes as
the cancer-causing, heart attack-causing, emphysema-causing, garbage they are?
One way is by dunking them, shredding them, and throwing them in the trash. Because every
time you dunk them, shred them, and throw them in the trash, you're showing yourself what
garbage they are. You're showing yourself they're worthless trash. You're putting them where they
belong, in the garbage - not your lungs.
And if you find yourself getting mad about the money you're wasting on the cigarettes you're
throwing away, think that at least they're not eating your lungs, weakening your heart, giving you
emphysema, and maybe cancer. Think that you're losing 56 cents, but you're not damaging your
body.
So if you want to worry about money, worry about the $1.60 you spent to GET the cigarettes and
injure your health, not the 56 cents you spent to GET RID OF THE GARBAGE and protect your
health.
Stop Smoking 13

I live with someone who smokes. At night or in the morning, I'd probably just borrow one of
theirs. Will your method work for me?
My method may not work for you. And you might have trouble getting other methods to work, too.
When cigarettes are so easily available, they are that much more difficult to give up. And the
problem isn't only availability, it's the second-hand smoke you breathe that can give you the desire
for a cigarette. The best thing I can suggest is to work with the other person. Maybe try to get them
to join you in trying to give up smoking. Many other stop-smoking method would tell you the
same thing.
If they won't work with you then you'll have to try it alone. Maybe after they see you succeed
they'll get courage enough to try it themselves.

I live in a dangerous neighborhood. I'd be afraid to go out at night. Will your method work
for me?
If you live in a dangerous neighborhood, one where you'd risk getting robbed or even losing your
life if you went out at night, and if you think you'd sometimes go out to get cigarettes if you didn't
have any, then don't use my method. Try one of the other methods I mentioned, and look at the list
of books and organizations at the end of this article. Remember, the main reason to give up
cigarettes is to improve your health (and save money too, of course, but what good is money if
you're sick?). So don't risk your health or safety. Try another method.

I'm a real "hyper" person. I'd probably just go out and get a pack anytime I wanted a
cigarette. Will your method work for me?
Here's another case where my method may not work. Obviously, my method is perfect for people
who are "laid back," who like to relax, who come home from a hard day at work and enjoy a night
of T.V. or reading or something else.
It's not so good for hyper people who always have a lot of energy.. They'll just pop right out and
buy a pack whenever they feel like having a cigarette. If you're like that, this method may not work
for you. You may want to try one of the other methods I mentioned, and look at the list of books
and organizations at the end of this article.
But first ask yourself "Am I really that energetic? If I were lounging at home, maybe in pajamas,
would I go out to get a pack? Do I just pop out of bed every morning, ready to go?" If you still
answer yes, then my method may not work for you.

About Part 2

Well, that's the end of Part 1, the part that talks about how to stop smoking. If that's all you want to
know then there's no need to read anymore.
What's in Part 2? A lot of information about tobacco, tobacco companies, and other stuff. But
nothing more about how to stop smoking. So what's all that information doing in a article about
how to give up smoking?
It's here for two reasons. First, the easiest way to stop smoking is not to start in the first place. I
recommend Part 2 for anyone who doesn't smoke. There's no need for that person to read Part 1,
but Part 2 could make the difference between them starting or not starting. It's especially good for
people in their teens, because studies show nine people out of ten who smoke started before they
Stop Smoking 14

were twenty years old. So, if you know a teenager who doesn't smoke or who's just starting, you
might want to pass this article on to them and suggest they read Part 2.
The second reason I included Part 2 is that it will help a certain type of smoker stop smoking.
What kind? I'll try to answer that.
Let's suppose that cigarettes are addicting - real, honest-to-God addicting. Let's even say they are
as addicting as heroin. (You might think this is a ridiculous thing to suppose, and maybe it is. But
bear with me.) And let's suppose everybody learned that cigarettes are as addictive as heroin.
Knowing cigarettes are as addictive as heroin would help some smokers. They'd say, "So that's
why I couldn't stop when I tried last time. It was because it's a lot harder to stop than I bargained
for. Now that I know how hard it is, I'm going to try again, that much harder. I'm going to make it
one of the most important things in my life - to stop smoking. It may be hard, but I know if I put
my mind to it and don't give up, I'll do it. I may have failed before, but now I know what I'm up
against. And this time I'm going to do it."
For that kind of smoker, Part 2 would be a help. It would give them some extra drive to stop
smoking.
But knowing cigarettes are as addictive as heroin wouldn't help other smokers. Just the opposite,
in fact. They'd say, "God, I'll never beat the habit. If it's that strong, I'll never be able to shake it. I
guess I better not try."
For that kind of smoker Part 2 probably wouldn't do any good. In fact, it might weaken their
drive to stop smoking.
So if you're that kind of person - or if you just think you might be that kind of person - stop
reading now. Because Part 2 probably won't help you.
Besides, the information in Part 2 is all extra, anyway. It's not part of the method for giving up
smoking. It about the medical dangers of smoking, about tobacco companies and the advertising
industry, and other things you don't need. There's not one more hint about how to stop smoking.
That information was in Part 1.
So Part 2 may help you want to stop smoking, or it may not. If you know what kind of person
you are, then you'll know whether to read Part 2 or not.
What if you aren't sure? Then answer this question: do you really want to stop smoking? If you
do, then there's no reason to read Part 2. On the other hand, if you're just thinking about giving up
smoking, then Part 2 may have just what you need to go from thinking about it to doing it.
If you decide to skip Part 2, then you're finished reading this article, although you might want to
turn to the last page and look over the list of books and organizations there.
If you want to read Part 2, turn the page.
 Part 2: Going Beyond the Smokescreen
Because I want you to know where I got some of the facts for this part, I give the book and page
number I got a fact from. So, if you want to check what I say, you can. The way it works is this:
sometimes you'll see something like ([S3],12). This means the fact is from page 12 of book [S3]
(the [S3] book in the list of books at the end).
Another thing: these books were written different years, and facts change. So if one book says
325,000 people die each year from smoking and another says 350,000 it may be because one book
was written in 1983 and the other in 1986.

Why do people smoke?

Why do people smoke in the first place? Some people find smoking is a relaxing break. Some find
it goes with alcohol or coffee. Some people smoke to fight depression,
frustration, or anger. Others to overcome nervousness, worry, or tension.
Some people smoke because they think it's fun, or a sign of being an
adult, or "cool." Some people smoke to "fit in," to feel they're part of the
group. Some people smoke because they want to lose weight and think
smoking will help them eat less.
But there's one reason all smokers smoke, whether they know it or not.
To feed their nicotine addiction.
That's right. Tobacco is addicting. If you find that hard to believe look at the U.S. Government
publication ([H1]) The Health Consequences Of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction. In the introduction,
on page i, it says "Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting" and "Nicotine is the drug in
tobacco that causes addiction."
I first read that nicotine was addicting about over 20 years ago, in a book published by
Consumers Union. (The book is labeled [L1] in the list of books.) Consumers Union is the
company that puts out Consumer Reports magazine every month. If you want to read what I read,
find the book in your local library and read chapter 25.
Tobacco is addicting. Maybe that explains why of the 50 million Americans who smoke, 30
million tried to quit but couldn't. ([S2],ix) Think about that. The majority of people who smoke
wish they didn't. They don't want to smoke. They tried to give it up but couldn't beat the addiction.
In fact, some people who gave up smoking and gave up heroin said giving up smoking was
harder! Hard to believe? Look in ([L1],217) or ([S3],9).
But tobacco is beatable. In fact, every year about a million people stop smoking. You can, too.
Just work hard at it. And realize that when you do stop smoking you will have accomplished
perhaps one of the hardest things you've ever done. And you'll have every reason to be proud of
yourself.

The health effects of smoking

Now we know why people smoke. They're addicted. But what does smoking do to them. What are
the heath effects of smoking?
There aren't any. So let's talk about the disease effects of smoking.
They aren't pleasant. And if they're going to depress you (so that maybe that you need a
cigarette!) then skip this section.
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 16

FACT. Lung cancer was an extremely rare disease in 1900. Today, about 1
person in 4 who dies from cancer dies from smoking-caused lung cancer.
([S3],8).
FACT. Smokers have more lung cancer and cancer of the throat than non-
smokers. ([S2],2)
FACT. Smokers have more bronchitis, emphysema, and ulcers. ([S2],2)
FACT. Each year, smoking kills more people in the U.S. than suicide,
homicide, alcohol, fire, cocaine, heroin, and AIDS combined! ([S3],98)
FACT. A person 30 to 35 years old who smokes two packs a day will
probably die 8 to 9 years early. ([S2],1)
FACT. A United States Surgeon General said that "cigarette smoking is the chief, single, avoidable
cause of death." ([S3],1)
FACT. Smoking is also the leading cause of avoidable disease and disability. ([S3],9)
FACT. The people who die EVERY DAY from cigarettes would fill three jumbo jets. So every
day it's like three jumbo jets crashing, killing everyone on board. ([S3],7)
FACT. Smoking kills about 350,000 people each year in the United States. It leaves many more
sick or disabled. ([S3],1,7,83).
(NOTE. The last fact, that smoking kills about 350,000 people a year, came out of a book
published in 1986. The 27 August 1993 edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, on
page A3, reports that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking killed
434,000 Americans in 1988 and 419,000 in 1990. It also said "smoking is still responsible for
one of every five deaths in the U.S." and that smoking is "by far the biggest cause of preventable
death and disease." One in every five deaths! Preventable! Seems like big news. But not,
apparently, big enough to make the front page. What did make the front page? you might
wonder. "Clinton's prescription: Encourage initiative and curb waste". Below it was "Burke
guilty in the slaying of Willard". One more point: the page 3 article about smoking had an
optimistic title, "Cigarette death rate went down in 1990." And the subtitle said, "thousands of
lives are saved each year." It puts a positive spin on the fact that smoking killed 419,000 people
in 1990, doesn't it? It makes the news sound good, almost. We'll discuss tobacco companies and
newspapers later.)

But if they're so bad, why are they legal?

But if cigarettes are really that bad for you why are they legal? you might ask. After all, the
Government bans all sorts of things, every day. Doesn't the fact that
cigarettes are legal prove they aren't that bad?
First of all, let me say I definitely don't think cigarettes should be made
illegal. Why? One, it wouldn't work. We can't even keep crack and heroin
out of this country. Besides, a lot of tobacco is grown here. Two, there's no
reason why adults who want to smoke shouldn't be allowed to. As long as
their second-hand smoke doesn't hurt anyone else.
But with that said, it's worth looking at why cigarettes are legal. After all,
if they're legal can they be that deadly?
Yes.
Then why are they legal?
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 17

Tobacco became legal before its health-damaging effects were know. If the Consumer Products
Safety Commission investigated cigarettes today they'd ban them in a minute. But Federal law
([S3],89) prohibits the Consumer Products Safety Commission from concerning itself with
cigarettes! Why? Probably because there are just too many addicts in the country, so what's the
point? (About one person in four in the U.S. smokes.) And the Food and Drug Administration says
cigarettes aren't food or drug ([S3],89) so they won't ban them, either. But if marijuana is a drug
why isn't tobacco? Seems to me they are just avoiding the issue.
Cigarettes are about the only legal product that cause disease, disability, and early death when
used as intended. They'd be illegal if Federal law didn't make them a special case. They're legal "by
exception."
Let me repeat: I don't think it's possible, or even a good idea, to outlaw cigarettes! But I do think
it's a good idea to keep in mind that they're only legal by exception. By every law that's meant to
protect consumers, they'd be illegal if they weren't given special treatment.

What a lot of people don't know

With all the publicity about smoking and disease over the last decades, you'd think most people
have a fairly good idea of the facts about cigarettes, disease, and early
death. They don't. (The following facts are taken from book [S3], pages
37 and 38.)
- In one survey, one non-smoker in two didn't think smoking can cause
early death. And two smokers in three didn't think smoking could cause
early death. In fact, smoking often causes early death. (419,000 deaths in
1990, according to the newspaper article.)
- And one person in three thought only heavy smoking was dangerous.
Wrong. All smoking is. We'll see this again later when we discuss
advertising and smoking.
- In a study, some people said smoking kills more people than traffic accidents. But twice as many
people disagreed and said traffic accidents kill more people than smoking. In fact, for every person
killed in a traffic accident, smoking kills between 7 and 8 people.
- When asked to guess if smoking kills 10,000 people a year or 300,000 people a year, more people
picked 10,000. They were wrong. 300,000 is closer to the truth.
- In a poll, about one smoker in two didn't know smoking causes most lung cancer. In does. Lung
cancer kills nine people in ten within five years. But seven of those nine die within one year. As
we'll see later, newspapers typically ignore this fact - obituraries say something like died "after a
long illness" rather than "died of lung cancer due to smoking."
- In one survey, two persons in three didn't know smoking causes most cancer of the mouth.
- Four smokers in ten didn't know smoking causes heart disease. And one person in three in the
general population didn't know smoking causes heart disease. It does.
- In fact, when people were asked to mention all the causes of heart attack they could think of, two
people in three didn't mention smoking. They should of. (In fact, the newspaper article says about
180,000 of those 419,000 deaths in 1990 were heart related, and 120,000 were from lung cancer.
- Six people in ten didn't know smoking causes most cases of emphysema.
- Half the women asked didn't know smoking increases miscarriages and spontaneous abortions.
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 18

Magazine, newspapers, and smoking

It seems a lot of people don't know very much about smoking, or have wrong information. Why?
Is it because they just don't think smoking is important enough to learn
about? Or because they don't have good memories and don't correctly
remember what they've read or heard?
Or is it because magazines and newspapers - some people's main sources
of information - often aren't very accurate when it comes to tobacco? Let
me give a few examples.
In 1978 ([S3],24-25) two scientists published a paper which said very
low tar and nicotine cigarettes might not be so bad for you. Magazines and
newspapers published this "fact" far and wide, and sometimes even went
further and seemed to say smoking low tar and nicotine cigarettes was
okay, safe. Later, the two scientists were proven wrong by other scientists
who found mistakes in the original paper. The other scientists proved that
smoking low tar and nicotine cigarettes is bad for you. The magazines and newspapers didn't make
such a big deal of that finding. To this day, there are people who think smoking low tar and
nicotine cigarettes is okay.
Another example. We've already seen that almost all people who die of lung cancer got it from
smoking. When smokers die of lung cancer their obituary usually says "died after a long illness" or
something like that. It doesn't say "died from smoking." But some years ago when comedian Andy
Kaufmann, who didn't smoke, died of lung cancer it was a big newspaper story.
I suppose you might be thinking that newspapers just print the news, and that a non-smoker
dying of lung cancer is news while a smoker dying of it isn't. Or that most people think smoking is
bad for you, so if some scientists say it isn't, that's news, but if other scientists prove them wrong,
that isn't.
Maybe so. But the fact still remains newspaper coverage of smoking and disease often isn't very
good. For example, in 1980 there were ([S3],82) more newspaper stories about influenza, polio,
and tuberculosis than the cause of one of every five deaths in the U.S. - smoking.
And some magazines give even worse coverage of smoking and disease than newspapers.
For example, the American Academy of Family Physicians ran a health supplement ([S3],81-82)
in the October 8, 1984 edition of Time, an issue which had eight pages of cigarette ads. As
originally written, the supplement had something to say about smoking and disease. When the
article finally appeared in Time, however, most of the stuff about smoking and early death,
disability, and disease had been edited out.
Then there was the soap opera of the American Medical Association (the AMA) and Newsweek.
In the November 7, 1983 edition of Newsweek the AMA ran a supplement ([S3],79-80) which
promised to offer "easily understandable information on good health from
the most knowledgeable and dependable source available: the medical
profession itself." The supplement said it would discuss "the most
important things" about health. It's sixteen pages talked about diet,
exercise, weight control, and stress, but had only four sentences about
smoking! And it didn't say smoking led to early death, disease, or
disability.
How could the AMA write a supplement that discussed "the most
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 19

important things" about health, and hardly mention the cause of one death in five, a cause that's
preventable? The science news editor of the AMA wrote that the AMA wanted to say more about
cigarettes but "Newsweek resisted any mention of cigarettes." Not surprising when you know that
issue of Newsweek had 12 pages of cigarette ads, worth about 1 million to the magazine.
After a lot of people criticized the AMA for the supplement, the AMA ran ([S3],81) another
supplement in the October 29, 1984 issue of Newsweek which had five paragraphs about smoking.
That issue of Newsweek had only four pages of cigarette ads, not twelve like the first issue.
The final act of the AMA/Newsweek soap opera occurred ([S3],81) about a year later in the
September 9, 1985 edition of Newsweek when the AMA published a supplement on personal
health care. It had eleven paragraphs about breast cancer, but only one paragraph about lung cancer
and smoking. It said nothing about how to quit smoking. Yet, in 1985 more women died of lung
cancer than breast cancer.
By the way, I don't mean to single Newsweek out over other magazines. As we'll see, Newsweek
is no worse than a lot of other magazines, and better than a few. For example, it's not as bad as
Cosmopolitan, which is ([S3],82) "regarded by the American Council of Science and Health as
providing the worst coverage of tobacco of all the major women's magazines." In January 1986,
Cosmopolitan ran one of its very, very few articles about smoking and disease. One of the article's
points was ([S3],82) that smoking isn't a bad as some people think!
It's easy to blame the magazines. I don't think they're entirely blameless but remember they're
just trying to make a profit and stay in business. If they started running a lot of anti-smoking
articles they might not be able keep publishing.
For example, Newsweek ran a four and a half page article about non-smoker's rights ([S3],76) in
the June 6, 1983 issue. Cigarette companies decided not to advertise in that issue. Newsweek lost
about a million dollars. Not many magazines can afford to lose a million dollars a month. So a lot
of magazines have to watch what they say about smoking and disease, disability, and early death.
Newspaper and magazine articles that talk about smoking and disease are regularly weakened or
cut entirely. Some editors won't run an article that discusses smoking and disease. Others will run
the article but weaken it; for example, they'll change ([S3],74) a sentence like "Cigarette smoking
causes cancer." to read "Heavy cigarette smoking can cause cancer."
Weakening an article is, in some ways, worse than not running it at all, because it gives people
misinformation, and a false sense of security. Such distortion may be one reason that so many
people have ideas and "facts" about smoking that are wrong.
So whether you smoke or not, you, me, and all Americans live in a smokescreen, a deceptive
magazine and newspaper environment which conceals or distorts the dangers of smoking.
Someone reads "Heavy smoking can cause cancer." and decides light smoking must be okay.
Someone reads an AMA article about health that has little or nothing about smoking and decides
smoking can't be that bad or the AMA would have mentioned it. Or they read an AMA article
which talks mostly about breast cancer and figures it must be a much bigger problem than lung
cancer.
Of course, a lot of people get information from T.V. as well as newspapers and magazines. If
they're watching CBS, however, they may not see too much about cigarettes and disease. After all,
in 1985, the parent company of the Lorillard tobacco company ([S3],52) bought a lot of CBS
stock.
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 20

How tobacco advertising warps newspaper and magazine coverage

Why do newspapers and magazines so often avoid articles about smoking and disease, or weaken
the articles they do run? Is it because they don't want to get their readers upset? Or because they
don't think smoking and disease is such a big deal?
Maybe. But there's another reason, too. Money. Lots and lots of
cigarette advertising money. How much?
Does TWO BILLION (that's two thousand million) dollars each and
every year sound like a lot of money? It should. It's about nine dollars for
every man, woman, kid, and infant in the U.S. In 1984 ([S3],43) the six
biggest tobacco companies spent about 2 billion dollars to promote
cigarette use. Where did all that money go?
A bit of it may have gone to movie producers. Movie producers? Yes.
For example, it's said ([S3],55) that Philip Morris paid the producers of
the movie Superman II to show Marlboro packs and advertisements a lot
in the movie. I suppose they wanted to help kids feel that Marlboro
cigarettes are a normal part of life.
And a bit of the two billion sponsored sport events like the Virginia
Slims Tennis Tournament or the Marlboro Cup, art events like the Kool Jazz Festival, or contests
and giveaways, like distributing free samples on the street.
But most of the two billion went to ([S3],1) magazines, newspapers, and billboard companies. In
fact, the biggest magazine advertizer in 1983 was ([S3],51) the R. J. Reynolds tobacco company.
Philip Morris, another tobacco company, was the second biggest advertizer. In 1983 four of the top
ten newspaper advertisers were tobacco companies. And the top four billboard advertisers were all
tobacco companies.
To keep all that money coming in it's not surprising some newspaper, magazine and billboard
companies avoid printing material the tobacco companies would rather not see. Here are a few
examples.
- A group raised money for billboard anti-smoking ads but got turned down because the
billboard company "didn't want to alienate its tobacco clients." ([S3],77)
- An ad for anti-smoking clinics was sent ([S3],78) to thirty-six national magazines. Twenty-two
said "Forget it. No way." Psychology Today said "we have a lot of money that comes in from
tobacco companies, and frankly, we don't want to offend our tobacco advertisers." Cosmopolitan
said "we get 200 pages of cigarette advertising . . . [A]m I going to jeopardize $5 or $10 million
worth of business?" Only three magazines - of the original thirty-six - accepted the ad.
- Harper's Bazaar once bought and paid for an article ([S3],74) called "Protect Your Man from
Cancer." They decided not to run the article because "it focused too much on tobacco," and "the
magazine is running three full-page, color ads [for tobacco] this month."
- A writer said that even though the publisher of Family Circle magazine ". . . denies that
cigarette articles are censored, yet a few years ago, the magazine asked me to write an article and
said, 'Don't write about cigarettes. It might offend advertisers.'" ([S3],74)
- A reporter at the 1982 Kool Jazz Festival ([S3],75) wrote that cancer killed Duke Ellington and
called cancer "un-Kool." His publisher told him: "If we have to fly to Louisville, Kentucky, and
crawl on our bended knees and beg the cigarette company not to take their ads out of our
newspaper, we'll do that. You're fired."
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 21

So the answer to "Does advertising money affect what newspapers and magazines publish?" is
"You'd better believe it does!" In fact, one book ([S3],73) says: "Dozens of writers, editors, and
publishers have described instances of censorship on coverage of tobacco attributed directly to
publications' fears of alienating cigarette advertisers.

Magazines and newspapers watching what they say

I've just described specific cases: an article is cut, another is weakened, an ad is rejected. But how
often does it happen? How big of a problem is it?
Big.
In fact, some things happen every day of the year. Let me give you an
example.
Newspapers run obituaries every day. Those obituaries usually say "died
after a long illness" rather than "died of lung cancer from smoking." They
usually say "died suddenly" or "died of a heart attack" rather than "died of a
heart attack from smoking" or "died when a heart weakened by smoking
failed."
Why don't obituaries give more details? Out of respect for grieving
relatives? Maybe, although sometimes relatives want the cause of death
publicized, so that other families don't have to suffer the same tragedy. So maybe it's actually out
of respect for cigarette advertisers, since one to three ([S3],50) of every hundred dollars of an
average newspaper's money comes from cigarette advertising.
The situation with magazines is worse. Some magazines get a lot more of their money from
cigarette advertising than newspapers do.
Here's the result of a study ([S3],73) that examined a few popular magazines. Each magazine ran
60 or more health-related articles over the years listed in the second column. The third column
shows what percentage of those 60 or more health-related articles mentioned smoking and disease.
The last column shows what percentage of their ads were cigarettes ads.

Magazine Years Percentage of Percentage of

Health-related Articles Advertizing Income
that Mentioned Smoking from Tobacco Ads
Reader's Digest 1965-1981 34.4 0
Good Housekeeping 1965-1981 22.1 0
Prevention 1967-1978 15.4 5.1
Newsweek 1969-1981 2.9 15.8
Mademoiselle 1966-1981 1.9 7.3
Ms. 1972-1981 0 14.8
Redbook 1970-1981 0 16.1
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 22

Table 1

It certainly doesn't take an Einstein to see what's going on. Reader's Digest and Good
Housekeeping didn't have any cigarettes ads (zero %). They both had a lot of articles about
smoking and disease. Ms. and Redbook had zero articles about smoking and disease - and lots of
cigarette advertisements.
Cigarette ads are big bucks for some magazines. In 1981 ([S3],49) Time got about 40.5 million
in cigarette advertising, about one advertising dollar in five. And Newsweek got 30 million dollars,
about 1 advertising dollar in 7. The year before, Playboy got about 9.5 million in cigarette ads.
Among women's magazines ([S3],50), Family Circle got 16.3 million in 1984, about 1 dollar in
9. Better Homes & Garden's got 15 million, Woman's Day got 13.8 million, Cosmopolitan got 7.5
million, Mademoiselle got 2.5, and Ms. got half a million.
Do you think all that money affected what the magazine published? I do.
For instance, in 1986 Ms. had a special issue ([S3],72) which they called "The Beauty of
Health." That issue had fifteen health-related articles. Not one of them was about smoking - the
main cause of avoidable disease and death. The issue did have four full-page cigarettes ads,
however, including one on the back cover.
Ten big women's magazines that carry cigarette advertising together had only 8 feature articles
about health and smoking from 1967 to 1979 ([S3],71); that means at least two of them had none.
In contrast, two magazines which don't accept cigarettes ads ( Good Housekeeping and Seventeen)
together had 16 such articles.
Do you think that magazines which get millions of dollars a year in cigarette advertising would
get that money if they ran stories about smoking-caused disease and death? I don't. If they want to
keep getting that money they have to watch what they say. It's that simple.
One person has called ([S3],83) the distortion and suppression of smoking and disease articles
"media self-censorship" and another has said ([S3],71) such distortion and suppression is the "most
shameful money-induced" censorship of the American news media."
I can't help but agree. And it's getting worse. Here's why.

Tobacco branches out

Once, a tobacco company was just that: a tobacco company. So, if a magazine like Reader's Digest
or Good Housekeeping didn't accept cigarette advertising they didn't have
any advertising money to lose.
Those days are gone.
Why? Because tobacco companies aren't just into tobacco anymore. In
1985, the R. J. Reynolds tobacco company brought ([S3],51) Nabisco, and
Philip Morris tobacco company brought General Foods. As of 1986,
tobacco companies ([S3],51) owned:
Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dole Pineapple, Miller Beer, Canada Dry,
Oreo Cookies, Jello, Minute Rice, Ritz Crackers, Planters Nuts, Cool
Whip, Life Savers, Carefree gum, Sanka, Chun King, Oscar Mayer,
Grape Nuts, Maxwell House coffee, Smirnoff vodka, Jim Beam, J & B
Scotch, and Ingelnook wines.
So even magazines which don't carry tobacco advertising had better watch what they say about
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 23

cigarettes and disease. Or they may lose advertising money.

In fact, it's said ([S3],78) Reader's Digest rejected an American Heart Association supplement
on heart disease and smoking because the Digest's editors "voiced concern that they would not be
able to find sponsors because their major advertisers are food companies now owned by tobacco
companies."

Getting new customers - teenagers

About 50 million people in the United States smoke. Every year more than 350,000 of them die
because of it. And every year about a million people give up smoking.
Tobacco companies have to replace those customers with new ones - or
eventually go out of business.
Where should a tobacco company look for new business? Well, studies
say nine smokers out of ten started before they were twenty years old.
(When did you start? I'll bet it was before you were twenty. I was in high
school.)
Here's how one man describes how he started smoking, a long time ago
when televisions were rare and people still listened to radio shows like the
Hit Parade every night.
“When I was 14 years old, my parents would leave me in charge of my
younger sister. After she went to bed, I would listen to the radio. When
the Hit Parade came on, the announcer would extol the pleasures of
cigarettes - ‘so smooth . . . so refreshing . . . ‘ I then would search the
house and clean out the ashtrays of my father's cigarette butts. The butts
were foul smelling but once lit, they weren't too bad. I felt grown up and
could enjoy the ‘smoothness’ and ‘refreshment’ of tobacco.” ([S2],xiii)
Notice how cigarette advertising helped get this man started. Also notice how old he was - 14
years. It's a fact ([S3],90) that most smokers become addicted before they can legally vote or enter
a bar.
So where should a tobacco company look for new customers? The answer seems obvious.
Yet, tobacco companies insist they don't want young people to start. They say all their
advertising is just meant to get smokers to switch brands. If that was true, you'd think they'd stop
advertising and save two billion dollars a year. Why don't they? Maybe because the existence of
their company depends on getting new (young) smokers to replace the older ones who die or give
it up.
Another point: tobacco companies still insist the connection between smoking and cancer and
heart disease hasn't been proven. (It has to everyone but the tobacco companies.) But if the tobacco
companies really believed the connection between smoking and cancer and heart disease isn't real,
then why wouldn't they want young people to smoke? What harm could it do?

Getting them hooked

Imagine a young person, a person who's in their mid-teens. They've grown up with a lot of anti-
smoking warnings. But they've also grown up seeing cigarettes in movies, because tobacco
companies pay movie producers to show them. They've grown up reading newspaper and
magazine articles which downplay the dangers of smoking - if they mention them at all. Tobacco
Going Beyond the Smokescreen 24

companies spend about $9 a person a year in advertising and promotion. So

if the person is, say, seventeen they've had 17 * $9 = $153 spent just on
them alone, to convince them cigarettes are fun, relaxing, pleasurable, cool,
a sign of independence, of manhood or womanhood, and a normal part of
life.
And if someone they know - either a relative or someone famous - dies
from smoking, they probably aren't told the real cause of death. They're told
heart attack. Or cancer. Or "died suddenly." Or "died after a long illness."
Now they're becoming an adult. They feel they're entering a new world,
they're becoming a man or a woman. Maybe it's a guy who reads sports
magazines a lot. Or a girl who reads fashion magazines. In either case, they get to see a lot of
cigarette ads. On the other hand, many magazines written for teens ([S3],50) get a lot of cigarette
advertising money. So the young person doesn't get to see articles about the dangers of smoking
too often - if at all. And other magazines get ads from companies owned by tobacco companies, so
they have to watch what they say, too.
The young person doesn't know this. What they do know is that cigarettes seem to be a natural
part of the world they're entering, the world of adulthood, as pictured in the magazines they read
and the movies they see.
Should they try smoking? Well, their parents have warned them against it and won't be happy if
they do. But they're becoming independent from their parents now. Would the Marlboro man not
smoke because his parents said he shouldn't? Would the Virginia Slims woman listen to any man,
even her father?
So why not? After all, they're at an age when they naturally want to try a lot of new things. Why
not give cigarettes a try? All their life they've heard and seen ads which associate cigarettes with
independence, manhood or womanhood, being cool. The ads have said cigarettes are refreshing,
pleasurable, and invigorating.
Why shouldn't they try them and decide for themselves? No one has told them cigarettes are
addicting and can be harder to give up than heroin to a heroin addict. So they figure they can
always stop when then want to.
Besides, a lot of their friends are doing it, and what their friends think and do matters a lot more
than what their parents think. Sure, they know smoking can be bad for a person. But not until
you're older. They can try it and give it up when they feel like. Their friends are doing it and they
want to fit in.
So they decide to do it. In time, they're addicted. Maybe they become one of the thirty million
smokers who want to stop but can't. But unless they do, they run the risk of also becoming one of
the more than 350,000 people each and every year killed by smoking.
Remember, every time you buy a cigarette you buy a cancer chance, you enter a heart attack
lottery. I hope you quit before you "win" the deadly game you're playing.

Good luck.
 Some References

If you want to learn more, here are a few books.

[Q1] - Quit Smoking, Curtis Casewit, published by Para Research, Rockport, Massachusetts.
Discusses the history of tobacco, the tobacco industry today, the health effects of smoking,
and many different ways to stop smoking.
[S3] - Selling Smoke: Cigarette Advertising and Public Health by Kenneth E. Warner, Ph.D.,
1986, American Public Health Association, 1015 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005,
(202)-789-5600. Very informative.
[L1] - Licit & Illicit Drugs, Edward M. Brecher and the Editors of Consumer Reports, published by
Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1972. Has an interesting chapter about the history and
effects of tobacco.

These are research and technical books.

[S1] - Smoker Motivation: A Review of Contemporary Literature by
Angelika Wetterer and Jurgen von Troschke, 1986, Springer-Verlag
[S2] - Review and Evaluation of Smoking Cessation Methods: The United
States and Canada, 1978-1985 by Jerome L. Schwartz, Dr.P.H., 1987,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,
National Institutes of Health, NIH Publication No. 87-2940
[H1] - The Health Consequences Of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. 1988.

Here are some organizations you can contact for more information.
American Cancer Society, 19 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019, (212)-586-8700. Has free
stop-smoking pamphlets.
American Heart Association, National Center, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Tx 75231, (214)-
373-6300. Has free stop-smoking pamphlet.
American Lung Association, 1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, (212)-315-8700
National Cancer Institute, (800)-422-6237. Has free stop-smoking pamphlet.
ASH - Action on Smoking and Health, 2013 H Street, N.W., Washington DC 20006, (Among
other actions, ASH would like to see all advertising and promotion of cigarettes drastically
restricted or entirely banned.)
Center for Health Promotion and Education, Centers for Disease Control, Building 3, 1600 Clifton
Road, N.E., Altanta, GA 30333