Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Freedom Of Choice Fallacy

I've been a disciple of Dr. Allen Brandt's views about nicotine addiction after I began to dig deeper into the issues involving smoking with Smoking Blows. I've been spreading his message ever since.

And the fact is - there is no such thing as "freedom of choice" when it comes to tobacco abuse.

Almost 90% of adults smokers began smoking while they were children, not yet capable of making a rational, informed, or even a legal decision to smoke. That's why the tobacco industry has targeted children and teens, they're easy to manipulate.

Once those young smokers become addicted to the nicotine found in cigarettes, and upon reaching adulthood and realizing their mistake, their addiction now impairs their ability to make the "choice" to quit smoking. Most adult smokers want to quit smoking, but many just can't beat their addiction.

Yet, the tobacco industry, the people in their pockets, and especially the many unwavering political Libertarians continue to push the view that smoking is a matter of personal choice.

In their views, smokers who experience the negative health consequences associated with long-term smoking should only blame themselves, because they had a "free choice" whether to smoke or not. Of course, once you understand the facts behind a nicotine addiction, you then realize that those views are pure fallacy.

Unfortunately though, there are still many uninformed people who buy into that Libertarian "freedom" line of reasoning whom mistakenly blame themselves for their medical predicament, and whom also support Big Tobacco's efforts to find replacement smokers and continue the genocide.

So, it's heartwarming to find other medical professionals following in Dr. Brandt's footsteps, and using all of their abilities and skills to inform the public about the real issues behind nicotine addiction and the fallacy of "freedom of choice" surrounding smoking. See for yourself -

Dr. Pauline Dekker and Dr. Wanda de Kanter are both pulmonologists at the Red Cross Hospital in Beverwijk (Netherlands). After 20 years of daily practice in which they treated thousands of patients with smoking related diseases (mainly lung cancer and COPD) they decided that something needed to change. Chemotherapy, inhalers, the pain and the suffering, all could have easily been avoided if only tobacco had never been legalized.

While continuing their work as chest physicians at the hospital in 2008 they started a project to keep young people from smoking. For their efforts they have received several prizes, the latest being the prestigious “Muntendam prize” by the Dutch Cancer foundation (KWF).

They used that money to fund their latest campaign at TEDx-Nijmegen which illustrates the guilt and the shame that lung cancer patients feel when confronted with their smoking related disease. Guilt and shame that should actually be felt by the tobacco industry.

3 comments:

  1. Okay, now that you know that your nicotine addiction isn't your fault, and now that you're aware of the immoral manipulation and hypocrisy of those looking to harm us solely for profit, here's the unfortunate rub -

    You're still going to have to seriously do something to quit smoking or else run the significant risk of an early death or a compromising long-term health condition. There's no other way around it.

    It's like getting T-boned in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. Becoming involved in the crash absolutely wasn't your fault, but now you're pinned in the wreckage, a fire is just beginning, and your car is becoming filled with smoke.

    You had nothing to do with causing the crash, but if you don't try your best to get out of that wreckage, the smoke will eventually consume and suffocate you. Complaining that it wasn't your fault won't save you. You must take immediate action or perish.

    The same thing applies to your nicotine addiction.

    Of course, we all know that it's not right that the tobacco industry and their supporters were able to manipulate you into becoming addicted, and you have every right to be angry about it and hold them responsible. But regardless, you must take action or perish.

    Make it a personal challenge that you WILL NOT ALLOW those greedy psychopaths to manipulate you and harm you anymore. I say use the anger that you feel towards the tobacco industry, and others who may have failed to help you in your youth, as a motivator to quit smoking. You're at war now, and it's a battle for your life.

    Take advantage of all of the ammunition at your disposal to win the war. Stay focused, and stay determined. Enlist your medical provider to help you in your effort to beat your nicotine addiction, incorporate the free support from your local quit team, and do your best to avoid the many triggers that often cause smokers to relapse. Even if you relapse, put it behind you and keep trying. Persistence produces results.

    You MUST do whatever it takes to win.

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  2. What's the best treatment for a nicotine addiction? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

    The best treatment for a nicotine addiction is prevention. Talk to your children about tobacco abuse before someone from the dark side beats you to it. Eight Tips for Talking with Youth about Tobacco

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  3. Didn't these two ladies once sing for the group "ABBA"?

    ReplyDelete