We here a lot of talk about ending oil company subsidies , which most people think is a great idea given the insane profits they make – how about Tobacco subsides next?
“How about ending tobacco subsidies to farmers in North Carolina”, I asked an official with the North Carolina Farm Bureau in Raleigh recently (who declined to be named in this report).
“Hold it now – what a minute”, he said.
“OK, so your not so sure on that then?”, I asked. “No comment”, he said.
“Well let me make it clear to you -tobacco kills people, so why should we be subsidizing it with tax dollars?”
“No comment”, he said.
“Why – Just because the North Carolina Farm Bureau supports it? I don’t think so!”
“In 2011, tobacco use killed almost 6 million people worldwide, according to conservative estimates”, says Mark H. of Charlotte, N.C.
“According to the American Cancer Institute, tobacco-related deaths have nearly tripled around the world in the past decade. If trends continue, 1 billion people will reportedly die from tobacco use and exposure during the 21st century – 1 person every 6 seconds”, he said.
According to the analysis, if all cigarette smoking in the US had ended after that first Surgeon General report, an estimated 2.5 million people would have been spared death from lung cancer.
Instead, despite all that is known about tobacco and health, about 45-52 million Americans smoke (more if you count kids), and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US.
Smoking is known to cause multiple types of cancer, as well as heart disease, stroke, lung disease, and other health problems.
Secondhand smoke is also dangerous, causing heart disease and lung cancer in adult non-smokers, and sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, and decreased lung function in children…
“Given how dangerous it is, we should outlaw it altogether”, I told the Farm Bureau official, who promptly hung up the phone in my ear.