In October, 2010, I had a physical exam and blood test, and all my numbers were to the left side of the page...within range!  At the age of 65 in 2010...this is a time for celebration! 

When I first started writing in August, 2006, I promised myself, that I would never be a crusader or preacher for anything, so I'm not telling or advising any to stop smoking.  I don't care if the person (young or old) dies from smoking or smoking-related diseases!  More parking spaces for the rest of us, etc. 

With over 200 articles under my belt during this time, I have about 20 articles, that I have quoted directly and not paraphrased, because I want to get the facts straight and I think this is an important topic.  Other articles that I have done this way include; homelessness; weight-loss; aging; exercise; stress and so forth.  I have done the same with this article, because the subject is so important. 

The article was written by Michael Felberbaum of the Associated Press, and published in the Albuquerque Jounal on November 11, 2010.  The article is entitled,

"Cigarette Packs To Come With Grusome Warnings"   Sub title reade;

"Pictures of Cancer and Corpeses Proposed"

"RICHMOND, Va; Corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs are among the images the federal government plans for larger, graphic warning labels that would take up half of each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States.  Whether smokers addicted to nicotime will see them as a reason to quit remains a question. 

The images are part of a new campaign announced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for over 440,000 deaths per year. 

Some very explicit, almost gruesome pictures may be necessary," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in the interview with The Associated Press.  "This is a very, very serious public healthissue, with very, very serious medical consequences," such as cancer, heart disease, strokes and lung diseases. 

The share of Americans who smoke has fallen dramatically since 1970, from nearly 40% to about 20%, but the rate has stalled since about 2004.  Abnout 46 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes. 

In the same period, the average cost per pack has gone from 38 cents to $5.33.  Much of those increases are from state and federal taxes.  The new prevention plan is part of a law passed in June, 2009 that gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco, including setting guidelines for marketing and labeling, banning certain products and limitin nicotine.  The law doesn't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco. 

The FDA is proposing 36 labels for public comment.  They include phrases like 'Smoking Can Kill You and 'Cigarettes cause cancer' and feature graphic images to convey the dangers of tobacco. 

'It acts as a very public billboard because you all of the sudden are reading something about lung cancer from that pack behind the cash register, whereas before you were just reading Marlboro,' said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who is working with the firm disigning the labels for the FDA. 

Some of the labels include a man with a tracheotomy smoking a cigarette, a cartoon of a mother blowing smoke in her baby's face, rotting and diseased teeth and gums, as well as cigarettes being flushed down the toilet to signify quitting. 

The agency will select the final labels in June after reviews of the scientific literature public comments and results from an 18,000 person study.  Cigarette makers will than have a year and three months to start using the new labels. 

The new warning labels are to take up the top half of the pack...both front and back...of cigarettes and contain 'color' graphics depicting the negative health consequences.'

In recent years, more than 30 countries or jurisdictions have introduced labels similar to those proposed by the FDA.  The U.S. first mandated the use of warning labels stating 'Cigarettes may be hazardous to your health' in 1965.'" 

END OF ARTICLE: 

I don't know of any healthcare professional, anywhere in the world, who would say anything positive about smoking...it would all be negative and deadly...but try to tell that to a stupid smoker! 

Look at it this way...the population of the world must level off and start to go down...and stupid smokers are doing their part, in population control...by dying!  Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn if a stupid smoker dies or not!  There will be less pollution for our environment; our children; our pets...and less litter for parks and streets from inconsiderate smokers, etc. 

You know the old saying...'ignorance can be fixed...but STUPID is forever!' 

*                     *                      *

Over the years, I've written several other articles on the subject of smoking, which include;

- The Insanity of Smoking;
    http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=48715

- Smoking Sucks!  How I Quit Smoking; 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=42888

- Young People Should Not Start Smoking; 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=47535

- Sabrina: Another Smoking Casualty; 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=43138

- Secondhand Smoke and Pets Make For a   
  Toxic  Mix; 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=47931

- Smoking/Heart Attacks; You Made Your Own 
  Bed
  http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=50991

- Poison Alert!  Secondhand Smoke! 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=45817

- E-Cigarettes: Another Toy For the Excuse-
  Maker; 
  http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=53828

 - Cigarette Bootleggers; Society's Burden; 
   http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=54579

 - Number One Litter Problem In the World; 
  http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=39680

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