There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

— Author uncertain, possibly Benjamin Disraeli, but popularized by Mark Twain

Introduction

What is the truth, and how do we know it? We have heard many purported facts since childhood, but many have been misleading, distorted, or outright lies. Over the years, many of these "facts" have been debunked, discredited, or shown to be the antithesis of what was supposed to be the truth. For years, the tobacco industry lobbied Congress and claimed that smoking cigarettes had no ill effect on people's health. We now know that smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer and the number-one cause of all cancer deaths in the United States. During the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, cigarette smoking was glorified in and encouraged by both television and radio advertisements. I remember such classic ads as one that said "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," one that featured the long-legged dancing pack of Chesterfields, and one with the grammatically incorrect slogan, "Pall Mall travels the smoke." (The word travels is an intransitive verb that does not take a direct object such as smoke). Then there was the rugged-looking, vein-popping cowboy sitting on his horse while smoking a cigarette who every wannabe he-man wished to emulate, the "Marlboro Man." But this was not enough for the tobacco companies; a whole new audience was waiting to be seduced. This was the female population of the United States., which promptly embraced this deleterious and meretricious deception with much alacrity. Virginia Slims cigarettes were introduced to make women look not only sophisticated but also sexy (Figure 2). These cigarettes were designed for women and gave them something to celebrate that was different from the traditional man's cigarette. Now, indeed, there was true equality for women, which they unfortunately wholeheartedly embraced. This gave women their own identity separate from that displayed in the bawdy ads for male smokers.

Cigarette ads in the 1950s even portrayed doctors recommending certain cigarettes. If doctors endorsed cigarette smoking, how bad could it be for your health? But there was a growing body of information proving the contrary. The famous saying for promoting Camel cigarettes, even endorsed by doctors was, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel." Doctors would have been better off walking the mile and forget about smoking that darn cigarette. I remember sitting (and practically choking) in smoke-filled meeting rooms during hospital conferences and national medical meetings in the late 1960s. This made it very difficult for all of us nonsmokers in the room to grasp any medical knowledge, especially when our eyes were tearing up and we were choking and gasping for fresh air.

Soon the incidence of lung cancer and its mortality rate rose exponentially, especially when women embraced cigarette smoking. A provision in the Fairness Act in 1967 required one antismoking advertisement for every three cigarette ads. The war on smoking began. On April 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed legislation banning all tobacco-related ads from TV and the radio.

Later in the 1970s, smoking was banned at all medical conferences (thank God!), and we were all able to breathe clean air while learning. New anticigarette ads in the 1970s indicated that sixty-five thousand doctors had quit smoking. Unfortunately, there was a lesser response from nurses. "Thank you for not smoking" signs cropped up everywhere, which all nonsmokers applauded. Consequently, the death rate from smoking began to decrease, but it did so faster for men than for women. Women, in general, seem to have a more difficult time in quitting this habit than men. I personally suspect that this is the result of the stronger emotional center of the limbic system in women. There seems to be a difference in the wiring of the limbic system in females as compared to males, especially involving the amygdala. But this is the way God made us. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

It seems that every smoker feels immune from developing lung cancer and delights in citing anecdotes of some smokers who live into their nineties. They are only deluding themselves. Lung cancer has one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers in both men and women. Lung cancer is the cause of 28 percent of all cancer deaths in men and 26 percent of all cancer deaths in women. These statistics do not include smoking-related cancer of the urinary bladder or of the head and neck. I refer the readers to an article that appeared in the Annual Report: U. S. Cancer Death Rates Decline, but Disparities Remain (date June 17, 2011, by Stacy Simon, American Cancer Society, found in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.)

I remember that when I was a young teenager, my father said that if he caught me smoking, he would break my legs. My father, being an exsmoker and a mortician, knew the evils of smoking long before they were popularized in the media. I know he did not mean what he said, but he was so passionate against smoking that he did not want me to smoke. He also reiterated on numerous occasions, "Smoking will stunt your growth!"

Well, since Dad was only five-foot, five-and-one-half inches tall, I wasn't taking any chances. That was all Dad had to say to keep me from becoming a habitual smoker. At least I made it to five-foot, nine inches tall — not quite six feet as Dad and I had hoped for, but better than what could have been.

I will admit that I did try smoking cigarettes for fun a few times, but I never inhaled (just like President Clinton). When I was in college, I occasionally smoked a pipe because I liked the aroma and I thought it made me look studious, but who was I kidding? I think I spent more time lighting that darn pipe than I did studying. Besides, it gave me a bad taste in my mouth. That was the end of that. I don't smoke cigars because they give me heartburn, and I never had the inkling to smoke marijuana. If I want to get high, I do...