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For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health by Jacob Sullum
In this controversial book, Jacob Sullum demolishes the leading claims of the antismoking movement; their assertions have been advanced, he says, because the movement's principals would like the government to take control of the tobacco industry. Have you heard that secondhand smoke is bad for you? "There is no evidence that casual exposure to secondhand smoke has any impact on your life expectancy," writes Sullum, a drug policy expert and senior editor at Reason magazine. The debate over smoking is really more about the nature of liberty--how should a society restrict the choices of its members?--than it is about public health. Ex-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is certain not to like For Your Own Good, but Sullum makes a powerful and provocative case against America's public health crusaders.
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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August 19, 2008
Jacob Sullum, For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health (Free Press, 1998)
It took me a long, long time to get through this book, but it was worth it. I still don't understand how Sullum managed (or why he felt it necessary) to present a balanced view of the stupidity to be found within these pages (and make no mistake, this is balanced; those who would call it “biased” obviously didn't read far enough between the lines to see all the value judgments and the like Sullum didn't include here-- and in my view, should have), but here it is. As a result, the book can get dry at times, and there are portions where it even sounds as if Sullum may be arguing for the other side. Still, in the end, his heart's in the right place. Which is more than one can say for either side in this ongoing, and incredibly stupid, war.
Sullum traces the history of smoking, and the parallel history of the anti-smoking movement. The latter history involves a great deal of tactic-switching, doublespeak, and outright lies (and this book was written before the biggest liars in the antismoking movement, stand.org and truth.org, were formed). The former history does as well, of course, and contrary to what the book's critics would have one believe, Sullum does not shy from the less-than-ethical depths to which tobacco companies would go during the early years of cigarette marketing in order to draw new customers. It's tough to understand how someone can call a book “biased” when the good guys are as slimy as the bad guys, but there you go.
It is at times interesting and at times not, as books like this often are, but there is a wealth of knowledge to be found within if one is going to try and combat the antismoking movement on any sort of reasonable level. (As is obvious from the tone of this review, I gave up on such things long ago.) One thing I did take away from it-- I switched to lights. Because, despite what the antismoking movement now tells you, there is such a thing as a “safer cigarette”. Funny, the antismoking movement seems to have bankrolled some of the research into finding one. Need more examples of how they've changed their tune over the years? There is a wealth of them to be found herein. Peruse at will. ****
It took me a long, long time to get through this book, but it was worth it. I still don't understand how Sullum managed (or why he felt it necessary) to present a balanced view of the stupidity to be found within these pages (and make no mistake, this is balanced; those who would call it “biased” obviously didn't read far enough between the lines to see all the value judgments and the like Sullum didn't include here-- and in my view, should have), but here it is. As a result, the book can get dry at times, and there are portions where it even sounds as if Sullum may be arguing for the other side. Still, in the end, his heart's in the right place. Which is more than one can say for either side in this ongoing, and incredibly stupid, war.
Sullum traces the history of smoking, and the parallel history of the anti-smoking movement. The latter history involves a great deal of tactic-switching, doublespeak, and outright lies (and this book was written before the biggest liars in the antismoking movement, stand.org and truth.org, were formed). The former history does as well, of course, and contrary to what the book's critics would have one believe, Sullum does not shy from the less-than-ethical depths to which tobacco companies would go during the early years of cigarette marketing in order to draw new customers. It's tough to understand how someone can call a book “biased” when the good guys are as slimy as the bad guys, but there you go.
It is at times interesting and at times not, as books like this often are, but there is a wealth of knowledge to be found within if one is going to try and combat the antismoking movement on any sort of reasonable level. (As is obvious from the tone of this review, I gave up on such things long ago.) One thing I did take away from it-- I switched to lights. Because, despite what the antismoking movement now tells you, there is such a thing as a “safer cigarette”. Funny, the antismoking movement seems to have bankrolled some of the research into finding one. Need more examples of how they've changed their tune over the years? There is a wealth of them to be found herein. Peruse at will. ****
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