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That's just drivel, sorry. Smokers are always trying to raise doubt that cigarettes cause lung cancer, and they twist statistics every which way from Sunday to "prove" their point. Not to mention, the link you posted is to an editorial, someone's opinion. The editor twists words. S/he is not actually "proving" anything. Just keep on smoking. Let me know how that works for you.
My son is only 9, and I've always feared that, even though he's an angel, he might one day fall to temptation with regard to smoking. IF that day ever comes, I would talk to him in a stern manner and let him know how disappointed I am and that, as long as he's living under my roof, it cannot continue. Lucky for me, though, my son has a very good concept of not doing things that would disappoint me, as we have a great relationship and he's stated many times that he would never do anything to hurt me. That's not to say that it would never happen, but I can breathe a little easier knowing that the chances of it happening don't seem very high.
That's just drivel, sorry. Smokers are always trying to raise doubt that cigarettes cause lung cancer, and they twist statistics every which way from Sunday to "prove" their point. Not to mention, the link you posted is to an editorial, someone's opinion. The editor twists words. S/he is not actually "proving" anything. Just keep on smoking. Let me know how that works for you.
It may be an editorial, but it's written by a Medical Doctor, and references journal articles 20 times in support of that opinion.
I'm not a smoker, but my dad is. He started when he was 12. He's 78 yrs old now & healthy as a horse. Meanwhile I remember a few neighbors who died of lung cancer in their 40's were not smokers. There are clearly other factors involved.
Actually, every single one of the sources he referenced supported the theory that inhaling tobacco smoke was either a direct cause, or significant risk factor, for getting lung cancer. He even includes a quote with each reference referring to the *causation* of lung cancer. Furthermore, he readily agrees that inhaling tobacco smoke IS a risk factor and DOES contribute to the diagnosis of lung cancer. His argument is that he doesn't believe it is the primary cause of it. He does not claim that it doesn't cause lung cancer at all; only that it doesn't always cause lung cancer.
It may be an editorial, but it's written by a Medical Doctor, and references journal articles 20 times in support of that opinion.
I'm not a smoker, but my dad is. He started when he was 12. He's 78 yrs old now & healthy as a horse. Meanwhile I remember a few neighbors who died of lung cancer in their 40's were not smokers. There are clearly other factors involved.
Well, written by an MD, eh? As if that clinches it. A gynecologist, maybe? Perhaps an opthamologist? The line at the end about abortion was clever, too. Most MDs aren't really scientists in the true sense of the word. What the author was saying was "correlation doesn't equal causation", which is true. However, the overwhelming evidence, of which I submitted two pieces, does prove causation.
In college I took human anatomy and lab. It was very upsetting to see the black lung and damage first hand in a human cadaver that had been caused by smoking. I called my parents up, very distraught, to come up to the college. My mother came, my father refused. Sadly it did not make a lasting impression. Over the years I can recall each tried to stop for periods of a year or more just to eventually start smoking again. I lost both parents to lung cancer as a result of their lifelong smoking habits/addiction. A person has to make the choice, their addiction or their life and family. Often the addiciton wins.
It is pretty well a guarantee that smokers with a lifelong habit will end up with COPD and be forced to use an oxygen tank. Ask the 14 yr. old son if he thinks what makes him seem cool to his peers now is worth becoming a "tanker" in later life. Does peer approval really mean that much to him?
It's not a guarantee, and making wild claims to 14-year-old kids is one of the reasons some 14-year-old kids grow up to be adult trouble makers. Because you can only hear so many wild claims until you catch on that someone is lying to you. And once you find out this little factoid, your ability to trust authority starts its downward spiral.
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aside - telling your kids this CAN happen - and telling you kids that "when this happens, it is usually because of that" - is well and good. But when you start throwing around the "always" and "guarantee" and "never" words, you're probably better off trying to rip down a brick wall with a feather duster.
Take him to a cancer treatment center. That might scare him straight.
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