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Considering the Evidence
Is Smoking Harmful?
No single piece of evidence on its own proves that smoking is
harmful to health. Consider the four sets of evidence in this
unit.
Bl Connections between death from C.H.D. and smoking.
B3 Connections between smoking and lung cancer.
Cl Doctors' smoking habits.
D Smoking and pregnancy.
- Write one sentence, summarizing briefly what you learned
from each of these sections.
Tobacco products (cigarettes/cigars) now carry a 'Health
Warning' from H.M. Government, and laws exist restricting the
advertising of cigarettes.
- Complete Table 8 on page R3 by giving a rank order (1 to
5), for its impact in either stopping a smoker from
smoking or discouraging someone from starting (1 for low
impact, 5 for high impact). Compare class results.
- *Design a poster for ASH (Action on Smoking and Health)
discouraging people from smoking. Some evidence would
seem to suggest that smoking is not harmful. Look at the
first 'reason' given for smoking in Section Al.
- Why might this evidence carry less weight than some you
have just summarized?
- Your friend smokes and says: 'They haven't really proved
that smoking causes lung cancer'. In the light of the
evidence in this unit, write briefly (1/2
to 1 page) how you would answer her.
*Conclusions
Here are some statements from the report of Royal College of
Phsicians.
Of British doctors aged 35 and over, more than twice as many,
smokers as non-smokers died before reaching 65.
On average a smoker shortens his life-span by about 51/2
minutes for each cigarette smoked - not much less than the time
he takes to smoke it. If a smoker gives up smoking, his extra
risk ordering before his time disappears in 10-15 years.
About 80% of children who smoke regularly continue to do so
when they grow up. The earlier in life a person starts to smoke
regularly, the greater is the risk of early death.
- Take any of these statements. Say what data you would
need to show it to be true. How should the data be
collected and used?
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