70 Years Since Smoking-Cancer Link: The Ongoing Struggle Against Tobacco Companies

Addiction Economy Thought for Today - it's 70 years today since Sir Richard Peto and Richard Doll uncovered the direct link between smoking and cancer. What a pity we haven't don't that much about it and over 8 million people a year are still dying today.

How is it with over 100 million deaths from smoking worldwide that we still see these companies as legitimate businesses instead of corporate serial killers?

Interesting interview with Peto in The Guardian.

Perhaps the co-opting of parliaments around the world might have something to do with it. (The 5th Economic Driver of Addiction from our model). “Even in the 1990s, public opinion polls showed half the UK population agreed with the statement that smoking couldn’t be all that dangerous otherwise the government wouldn’t let it be advertised."

This perception is surely also true with current laws on unhealthy and ultra processed food, gambling, alcohol and of course vapes. "If I can buy them in shops surely they can't be that dangerous, or it wouldn't be allowed."

Labour were responsible for pushing for the EU wide advertising ban on cigs after their 1997 election win, but were also responsible for giving an exemption for Formula 1 and recategorising gambling as a leisure industry.

Let's hope they learn from their mistakes and see the public health impacts of these harmful products and take more proactive steps this time around.