Thread by @rcbregman

Some disasters don't make the news, because they happen every single day. We've become accustomed to these catastrophes, even though they're often (much) worse than even the worst news on the front pages.

Case in point: the tobacco industry. /1

Imagine reading the following news item: 'Jumbo Jet crashes on runway, no survivors'. And imagine that half an hour later the same news item appears - 'Another Boeing 747 crashes, again no survivors' - and thirty minutes later again. /2

Then assume that this nightmare continues all day and night, and that eventually more than fifty planes crash in 24 hours. Finally, imagine that it goes on like this all year long.

That's how many deaths the tobacco industry causes. /3

This is an industry that claimed 100 million lives in the 20th century, and - if we continue like this - it will take a billion lives in the 21st century. This industry created ‘the deadliest artifact in human history’, according to the eminent historian Robert N. Proctor. /4

The tobacco industry is a greater killer than malaria and tuberculosis, car crashes and climate change, war and disasters *combined*.

That's about 8 million deaths per year. /5

And yes, it’s a fabulously lucrative business. To put some numbers on it: a modern cigarette machine produces 20,000 cigarettes per minute; 10 million per eight-hour shift. /6

Epidemiologists tell us that there's one death per million cigarettes, so we are talking about 10 deaths per shift. The companies make about a penny per cigarette, which means each death is worth $10,000 to the industry.

That's $5 million per Jumbo Jet, every 30 minutes. / 7

Now you may be thinking: this is old news, isn't it?

Surely smoking is on the wane? /8

If only it were. The global revenue of the industry is still rising. The number of smokers is declining slightly in rich countries, but that’s more than offset by the rise of vaping and the growing popularity of smoking in lower- and middle-income countries. /9

Moreover, companies like Philip Morris are all too happy to dismiss smoking as ‘old news’ so they can continue down their old path.

The result is a kind of mass blindness. That which is insane – fifty crashed Jumbo Jets a day – has been normalized. /10

Yes, people have always smoked. But it's important to emphasize that there is nothing 'natural' or 'normal' about the cigarette. The cigarette is a 20th century invention, the result of decades of R&D, and a research budget of tens of billions. /11

The cigarette of today consists of just two-thirds tobacco, to which literally hundreds of substances are added: moisturizers, impact boosters, cough suppressants, flavorings, you name it.

All to make the product as addictive as possible. /12

This means that cigarette smoking isn't 'a free choice'. In reality, most smokers start when they are minors, and most want to quit. Every year more than half attempt to do so, but because the cigarette has been made so addictive, that attempt is often in vain. /13

A Canadian study finds that on average 30 (!) quit attempts are needed to finally break with the addiction. /14bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/6/e0…

The tobacco industry knows full well that nicotine use rewires your brain and creates a pharmacological dependence as strong as the addiction to heroin or cocaine. /15

That makes nicotine totally different from alcohol, because only 3 percent of alcohol users are alcoholics. For cigarettes, it’s 80 to 90 percent. People who are happy to smoke are so rare that the industry has a name for them: the ‘enjoyers'. /16

Someday historians will look back on our time, and find it incredible that the tobacco industry was able to run its course for so long. That a product containing arsenic, cyanide and radioactive isotopes could be legally sold in supermarkets. /17

The historians of the future will marvel at the countless chemists who did everything they could to make smoking as addictive as possible. About the countless marketers who did everything they could to make smoking as sexy as possible. /18

About the countless lawyers who did everything they could to cover up the lies of the tobacco industry. 'I have studied these companies for decades,' writes historian Proctor, 'and still have to rub my eyes from time to time...' /19

This industry is all too eager for us to believe that the battle against Big Tobacco has been fought. That smoke-free spaces, warning labels, the ban on advertising and hefty taxes have done enough to curtail the problem.

But nothing could be further from the truth. /20

Still, this deadly industry can and will one day come to an end. For that to occur, a number of things must happen.

First, we need to get angry again. Without public outrage, there is no political pressure to hold these companies to account. /21

Second, many more people – activists and lobbyists, lawyers and doctors – must join the fight against the tobacco industry.

Third, we must be crystal clear about our end goal: the manufacture and sale of cigarettes must eventually be banned. /22

Just last year, New Zealand scrapped its smoking ban to pay for tax cuts.

But the British Conservative government under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is currently leading by example. /23 politico.eu/article/britai…

On the 16th of April, UK parliamentarians voted for a progressive ban on tobacco products which will make it illegal to ever sell cigarettes to people born after 1 January 2009. The bill has to pass a third reading and the House of Lords for a final vote. /24

It’s not an exaggeration to say that, if this bill passes, Britain would set a milestone in the history of civilization. The nation could lead the charge against one of the vilest industries on earth /25

Read my full essay about the case for abolition here: /26moralambition.eu/focus-areas/ab…

Or read it in German ()
In Spanish ()
In Danish ()
In Catalan ()
In Finnish
In Czech
Or Slovak: /27zeit.de/wirtschaft/202…
elpais.com/ideas/2024-05-…
politiken.dk/debat/kroniken…
elnacional.cat/ca/cultura/abo…
hs.fi/mielipide/art-…
a2larm.cz/2024/05/zrusme…
e.dennikn.sk/3956153/raz-sa…

(Or Dutch! ) /27-2volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie…

Some people argue that abolition wouldn't work, citing the Prohibition of alcohol in the US in the 1920s. But that comparison doesn't work, because this abolition would be gradual, and because most smokers hate their addiction. See Proctor: /28

I've co-founded an organization – The School for Moral Ambition – that organizes a fellowship for professionals who want to dedicate their career to the fight against the tobacco industry. /29

https://twitter.com/rcbregman/status/1785657072534872212

We seek candidates with ideally around ten years of experience (minimum three years), including lawyers, consultants, lobbyists, policy workers, tax experts, marketers, and investigative journalists. /30

Apply now:

Applications are open until May 19, 2024. /endmoralambition.eu