Excellent and Thorough survey

books:


	• The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America Allan M. Brandt Basic Books, 2007 - 600 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Ominous Precursor

Given the size of the book, I was sure I was going to be perusing it only. However, the similarity to what I have seen with the wireless industry made me go back and read it in detail...disturbingly familiar detail. Read this to get a preview of its inevitable sequel...The Cell Phone Century.

Excellent and Thorough survey

Fantastic job of tracing the roots of the cigarette industry to its "high water" mark in the 1950s, and then a thorough explanation of how it managed to survive and even thrive in some respects in the past fifty years. You can guess the author's opinion, but it is an opinion he came to after a complete survey of the evidence, which is as human beings what we should aspire to, eh? Appropriate use of numbers/statistics - does not get bogged down by overloading the book with charts and causal equations. Good final chapter on the intersection of American capitalism, globalization, public health and the cigarette industry. Recommended for both medical/public health officials and the general public.

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For smokers

I'd recommend this book to smokers like me out there. You'd learn that we (smokers) are the only ones getting pissed on in the end - cigarette companies continue to make money, everyone else gets road fixed, schools financed, etc. with the hiked cigarette tax that the smokers pay. Yes, suckers. And I'm not even bringing in lung cancer (we die off quicker so probably lower the medical care cost burden on the whole).

It also provides insight into the development of the US ad/marketing industry and our legal system. It's a tome, though, good also as a door stop.

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death by smoking

This is the story of how smoking, once a socially acceptable, pleasurable behavior, became a disgusting habit for the smoker, a danger to non-smokers, a crime for cigarette makers and a financial windfall for some smokers, lawyers, and state governments. The book is well written, well documented and very readable but we know where the author stands. He tells us that 400,000 or 500,000 people are "killed" every year from smoking. Death by gunshot is instant and violent. This happens to about 30,000 people a year and no manufacturer is criminally responsible. Death by smoking can occur 20 to 45 years after smoking begins during which time the smoker could have abused his body in other ways but if not, aging and genetics contribute to death. Even though smokers choose cigarettes for pleasure with full knowledge of long term health consequences, the author concludes that abusive smoking that leads to disease is the criminal responsibility of tobacco companies.
A consequence of education, litigation, and the high cost of cigarettes is that fewer people smoke today. However, there has been a surge in obesity and obesity related health costs and shortened life spans. Mr. Brandt, if people are addicted to fatty foods and feed fatty foods to their children should Krispe Kreme and McDonalds be held criminally responsible as more and more people are diagnosed with diabetes and other diseases related to abusive eating? I wonder how many people are "killed" every year from abusive eating?

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

The invention of mass marketing led to cigarettes being emblazoned in advertising and film, deeply tied to modern notions of glamour and sex appeal. It is hard to find a photo of Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall without a cigarette. No product has been so heavily promoted or has become so deeply entrenched in American consciousness.And no product has received such sustained scientific scrutiny. The development of new medical knowledge demonstrating the dire harms of smoking ultimately shaped the evolution of evidence-based medicine. In response, the tobacco industry engineered a campaign of scientific disinformation seeking to delay, disrupt, and suppress these studies. Using a massive archive of previously secret documents, historian Allan Brandt shows how the industry pioneered these campaigns, particularly using special interest lobbying and largesse to elude regulation.But even as the cultural dominance of the cigarette has waned and consumption has fallen dramatically in the U.S., Big Tobacco remains securely positioned to expand into new global markets. The implications for the future are vast: 100 million people died of smoking-related diseases in the 20th century; in the next 100 years, we expect 1 billion deaths worldwide.

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