Some Good News About Smoking

Bob Schieffer On How An Exhibit Of Old Cigarette Ads Shows How Far We Have Come From The Habit

(CBS)  Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.

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I actually found a little good news this week. It wasn't easy.

It wasn't on the front page, of course, but deep inside yesterday's New York Times there was a story about a new exhibit at the New York Public Library that tells how successful the tobacco industry has been over the years at conning us into smoking.

That is good news, yes, because we have come to understand what a con it was - and how far the industry was willing to go to convince us to smoke.

The exhibit gave an example: In 1929, when only "loose women" were thought to smoke, the industry put a PR man named Edward Bernaise on the case and convinced ten genteel ladies to smoke cigarettes while marching down Fifth Avenue in the Easter Parade.

The newspapers ate it up, and pictures appeared across the country.

Suddenly it was acceptable for ladies to smoke outdoors. And, of course, they did.

Today, one fifth of all American women still smoke, and they have come full circle - in most places they can only smoke outdoors, and the young of both sexes crowd the sidewalks of our big cities.

The heartening thing is that smoking is not nearly as popular as it once was, and most of us have figured it out - that smoking is the single most preventable cause of death, that the third of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking.

But what a con it was.

And what saps we were to buy it for so long.

[damsel2]

cigarettes vs credit cards
In your words...
''How long we have been conned and what saps we were.''

[auntbbond]

Then the government needs to stop supplementing the tobacco industry!!!! Over $5.00 a pack.....the health implications....grow corn....for alternative fuel options!!! Anything that will help the country not cost the country!!

[danielandroz]

I''m glad peolple are smoking less. That is wonderful. But is it really a pertinent topic given all of the political news of the day. Bob, I have always respected you as a newsman, which is why I find it shocking that you could do an entire program today and not mention one word about the results of the Alaska investigation which found Sarah Palin had abused her power as Governor.

[timothyone-2009]

When tobacco was King, Bob Sheiffer inhaled those big paychecks like all the other talking head know-nothings. If tobacco were still King, Bob would today be writing on the perils of the last poison exposed by liberal science that he defended until he couldn''t.

[iam4k9too]

Tobacco companies didn''t con us. We did it to ourselves. Noone ever smoked thier first cigarette against thier will. And everyone who continued to smoke did so know full well that they are danerous. The tobacoo companies may have lied but everyone else told us that they where bad for us and we all chose to ignore them. From my parent when I was a 12 year old smoker to my school and church and strangers on the street. The Surgeon General even had it printed on every pack of cigarettes I ever bought. I smoked fo 27 years. I quit when my father died of lung cancer. Cons don''t work unless you want to believe them and you have to do that to yourself.

Pimps and prostitutes didn''t con us. We did it to ourselves. No one ever did his first prostitute against his will. Anyone who ever continued doing prostitutes did so knowing full well it was dangerous. The pimps and the prostitutes may have lied but everyone else told us they were bad for us and we all chose to ignore them. From my parents when I was 12 years old to my school and church and strangers on the street. The military even made films about it for all servicemen. Cons don''t work unless you want to believe them and you do that to yourself. My dad gave them up; I haven''t. I guess I''m really a sap for buying it so long. (thanks to iam4k9too) You can do this with credit cards, you know, damsel2.

[markanthonyclark]

first time i was caught smoking at 14 my father a smoker and a 5th grd. dropout from eastern ky that migrated north to indpls in the 50''s made me eat the remainder of my pk of cigs. I asked why I couldn''t smoke, he did. his reply was "if i kill myself that''s on me but you are not going to kill yourself." Now, if this "ignorant hillbilly" knew it was dangerous to smoke in 1969 why did so many of you saps that graduated with masters and doctorates think it was ok to smoke? my father''s threats did not do any good, i kept on smoking and i still do, but i have always known that it was bad for my health and that it will most likely kill me eventually. you wasted your breath and costly air time with this editorial. literally thousands of things you could have reported on that were more important, like the flea who died today that lived on a rats *** in china. anybody that believed the ads of the tobacco co.''s had to have been real morons. talk about the dumbing of america since ww2, ***, i''m beginning to believe it more and more each day.

[markanthonyclark]

first time i was caught smoking at 14 my father a smoker and a 5th grd. dropout from eastern ky that migrated north to indpls in the 50''s made me eat the remainder of my pk of cigs. I asked why I couldn''t smoke, he did. his reply was "if i kill myself that''s on me but you are not going to kill yourself." Now, if this "ignorant hillbilly" knew it was dangerous to smoke in 1969 why did so many of you saps that graduated with masters and doctorates think it was ok to smoke? my father''s threats did not do any good, i kept on smoking and i still do, but i have always known that it was bad for my health and that it will most likely kill me eventually. you wasted your breath and costly air time with this editorial. literally thousands of things you could have reported on that were more important, like the flea who died today that lived on a rats *** in china. anybody that believed the ads of the tobacco co.''s had to have been real morons. talk about the dumbing of america since ww2, ***, i''m beginning to believe it more and more each day.

[jamesegibson]

The progress we''ve made in reducing the false and misleading advertising for tobacco products is fabulous. I hope in another generation or two smoking will be almost eliminated through preventing young persons from starting the habit.

We still have a long way to go in stopping false and deliberately misleading adverting, though. Political candidates, junk food, alcoholic beverages, and many other products besides tobacco are still marketed improperly. It''s almost impossible for humans to discern and eliminate all the improper ads.

[actornaught]

Let''s not forget the product itself. Kent made a big deal out of their "micronite" filters that were actually asbestos. Suckk on that one...

[itgranny]

We need to look at the tobacco industry anytime we consider the reason why people do things that aren''t good for them. Whether its credit card spending, trying to live in a home that''s more than you can afford, fast food, slick toys for kids, SUV''s or what ever, slick advertisement works! Maybe we need to look at the media%u2019s role in all this too.

Tobacco advertisements were found so powerful, they induced people into doing destructive things to themselves; to the point where people ignored the cancer risk, smell, and reduced lung capacity. The same is true for the debt risk people were willing to run in order to have the lives TV, magazines and newspapers and radio said we were supposed to have.

Even our programs of the ''70s and early 80''s, the modest living "All in the Family, Good Times, Happy Days" were replaced by the Cosby''s, Dallas, Beverly hills 90210"

The tobacco settlement set a precedent in the way we looked at media. That media does indeed influence us into making bad decisions. Maybe we need to apply it elsewhere.

[m_onger]

The real saps are those who believe in "preventable death", regardless of cause. All the seat belts, calorie counts in restaurants, smoking bans will not "save" a single life. And as a society, we''d better start giving serious thought to prolonging life at all cost. It is an expensive, but futile attempt at cheating destiny (or God)

[gthc1]

You''ve come a long way, baby.

????????????

[iam4k9too]

You aren''t getting it. At what point do we stop blaming other for "our" mistakes and start taking responsiblity for our own lives. The tobacco companies did not make anyone smoke. Smokers do that themselves. As you go on blaming others for your own mistakes you will continue to expect others to fix them for you. You are not taking responsibility for you own life. Noone made me smoke. I did that myself. Not the tobacco companies, not the advertisers, not the media. I did it for my own reasons and not because a cartoon camel on pack of matches convinced me to. I did it because I enjoyed it. Stop blaming other for what you do.

[itgranny]

iam4k9too: "Noone made me smoke. I did that myself. "

And just what is it that makes you try that first cigarette knowing that it gives you bad breath, makes your clothes and hair stink, makes you cough, makes you out of breath faster, increases your chance of getting cancer and emphezema and is taxed so heavily that it''s a very expensive habit. You have people on the street that smell you coming and give you the cold shoulder just because you smoke.

As somebody who after 25 years, quit a 2.5 pack a day habit 3 years ago, i can see you''re in denial. There are no redeeming benefits to smoking, only a downside, yet the tobacco companies got you to believe that it was a cool thing for your to start and then they have you addicted to their product. Admit it or not, you''re smoking because you were influenced by somebody that was not looking out for your best interests and this is the same as we''re seeing in many other aspects of our society.

[lauriegobama]

2008 Presidential Debate question for John McCain


Webster''s New World Dictionary defines "MAVERICK"in two ways;

1. one who takes an independent stand, as in politics
2. a lost calf

It has become increasingly clear to me that Sarah Palin''s participation in this presidential election can be defined, at best (using Webster''s verbiage) a lost calf.

Senator McCain you''ve stated the most important decision a United States Presidential Candidate makes is their choice of Vice President and that he/she be ready to Serve as President on Day One.
Can you tonight, in front of 70+ million television viewers, share why the American people should be comforted, and not afraid, with a potential Sarah Palin presidency?