Lowell Bergman's 60 Minutes Essay

The movie, “Thank You for Smoking” is a comedy with a tobacco industry lobbyist, Nick Naylor as the lead. The movie has an eerie comic theme which tackles the serious issue of the addicting substance of tobacco, or to be more specific, nicotine. The idea which the movie was trying to portray was that this lobbyist was a great speaker who is able to manipulate many a feeble-mind. A lobbyist, to begin with, is one who is employed to persuade all-concerned of the employer’s concern(s), in this case, the marketing of tobacco products.

In another sample tested by the FDA, diethylene glycol was present. This substance is a toxic chemical commonly found in antifreeze (Torrejon). In addition, the amount of formaldehyde contained in about ten inhalations of an e-cigarette surpassed the concentration of formaldehyde in a tobacco cigarette at one hundred micrograms to seventy-six micrograms (Yoneyama). Also detected were glyoxal and acrolein. These toxins are feared to cause inflamed bronchial tubes, coughing, irritated mucus membranes in organs, and even lead to reduction in lung functioning (Yoneyama). Lastly, A California Department of Public Health report written last year states that cancer-causing toxins can be emitted from an electronic cigarette and can hook users on nicotine (Cornwell). “Some people say they are safer than combustible cigarettes, but safer doesn’t always mean safe,” stated Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. He and other health experts worry about the new alternative and believe that much more research is needed. Due to the staggeringly large amount of health risks tied to each device, regulations need to be heavily increased. Many are unaware of the burden the electronic cigarette bears, and restricting purchases of the product can lead to a greater improvement in the lives of countless citizens.

In this assignment, I will reflect upon an incident within the clinical practice involving a smoker patient . For the purpose of this assignment, Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (1988) has been used to guide the reflection on the incident. The patient's name, in relation to confidentiality will not be used according to NMC confidentiality.

Wigand morally struggled with the information that he discovered at B&W, the death threats, intimidation, and their constant reminder of lawsuits compelled him to testify against the company. This situation certainly met the five conditions in order to morally justify blowing the whistle on his employer. He had “reason to believe that by going public the necessary changes would occur. The chance of being successful was worth the risk” (DeGeorge 311) due to the severity of the situation. The doctor had documented evidence that nicotine was dangerous and the company’s practices posted a serious danger to the customers. Dr. Wigand made the difficult decision to “cooperate with Federal regulators and anti-tobacco investigators, becoming the famous and highest paid executive to blow the whistle at that time” (Lyman). He also did an interview with 60 Minutes where he disclosed the secrets of the giant tobacco companies and what they tried to so hard to keep from the

The popularity of e-cigarettes and vapes has grown exponentially within the last couple of years. These two alternatives offer a “safe” way to consume nicotine or just a substitute to regular cigarette smoking. These products omit water vapor instead of tobacco smoke, constructing it as less of a health risk. Nicotine can be added to the mixture to help quit smoking or offer a healthier option to those with nicotine dependence. There has not been widespread research on conventional e-cigarettes, in addition to data on vapes been relatively premature. These smoking devices have not be regulated by the FDA yet, but the FDA has looked into e-cigarettes and its contents (FDA, 2015). Many e-cigarettes that are thought to be free of nicotine, have

If I would have known that it would have led to you really smoking I would have never bought them” (Anderson, 2011).

The addiction to tobacco, nicotine, and smoking is something the humans have embraced and battled since the early 1800’s. With more and more people falling into the habit and becoming addicted, many detrimental health effects on the body caused people to question what was going on and what was causing these negative reactions in the body. Soon enough, the healthy and “cool” cigarettes that everyone was smoking became the face of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, birth defects, and many other deadly bodily reactions. In the early 2000’s electronic cigarettes (ECs) were developed by a Chinese pharmacist that hoped to allow smokers to maintain their nicotine addiction, but limit or end the harmful and detrimental effects of tobacco on the body, due to his father’s death of tobacco-attributable lung cancer.1 A typical EC consists of a rechargeable lithium battery, a heating tool called an atomizer, which vaporizes a humectant (typically propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or polyethylene glycol 400). The humectant contains liquid nicotine. When the smoker inhales, the heating tool is activated by an airflow sensor, and the nicotine is vaporized.1 2

Tobacco use and the effects of second hand smoke have been an ongoing issue for many years. Looking at the attitude of the 1950’s and 1960’s when smoking was thought of as cool, suave, mature, etc., there has been a major turnaround in the way society looks at the use of tobacco. Now the issue is not just smoking and the damage to health that it causes, but now there is the additional awareness of what second hand smoke can do to individuals.

In conclusion, more Americans need to be aware of the dangers of e-cigs including their addictive levels of nicotine, and harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde. Thedailybeast addressed the dangerous of e-cigs to not only the user, but other in this statement ,”Outside the risk of exposure to cancer-causing agents, e-cigarettes have been shown to prove dangerous to kids.” This shows that the dangers caused by e-cigs can indirectly harm others, and is posing as a threat to the user's health and can act as a bad influence toward the youth. This is why americans need to relook at how safe e-cigarettes

Before Wigand had come forward you had people that were whistleblowers for the tobacco industry you had someone who had stolen those secret files that ended up on Bergman doorstep. But Wigand was the Christopher Columbus of the tobacco, he was the biggest person in history to have and still to this present day that has stood up against the tobacco industry. Once Wigand had blown the whistle on B&W other employees didn't come forward or back Wigand up, he talks about in his interview with Vanity Fair, that B&W staff was an incestuous society at parties and dinners they never mixed and they stayed away from each other. People were getting paid well and getting nice benefits packages, people knew what was going on everything was shot down through

According to Fairchild et al. (2004), even though the concept of “safer” cigarettes received support from federal and voluntary institutions in the 1980s, there have been contrasting ideas about this topic especially between physicians and public health professionals today. The advent of electronic cigarettes has therefore elicited varied reactions among major players both in the health sector and cigarette manufacturing industry. Electronic cigarettes are basically battery-operated devices that simulate traditional tobacco cigarettes and are designed in such a way that they transmit a nicotine vapor that is usually inhaled (Novack para 2).

In fact, the tobacco industry has suffered ever since antismoking advertising has begun (Johnston, p. 107). According to statistics, 4 in every 10 Americans who are in 12th grade have tried cigarettes, and 1 in 10 consider themselves current smokers. As well as, 1 in 5, 8th graders have tried cigarettes, and 1 in 16 consider themselves current smokers (Johnston, p. 107). Now that society is aware of the harms of tobacco, it is important to decrease such rates of smoking amongst youth. Not only are there commercials about the risks of cigarette smoking, but also there are commercials that promote living above the influence of all drugs, including alcohol and marijuana. Lastly, as research continues to improve, and new drugs arise it is important to keep youth educated on the risks of using such drugs. It is important to keep our youth safe from the dangers of

Smoking tobacco has been a part of American culture since its very conception. Throughout our history, tobacco has been advertised as a simple pleasure for those who seek it out. Whether you are sitting on the porch with a couple of friends or in a dimly lit jazz club, tobacco ads give off a false sense of comfort, power, and success. Until around the mid-1900’s, smoking cigarettes was not considered unhealthy. It was only later that the public realize the detrimental health consequences that came with smoking tobacco. To spread this information, specific advertisements were aired to help inform the public of the dangers of smoking. While these ads have changed over time, the same message and warning still remains evident.

The company faced issues related to the methods it used in investigating the unauthorized disclosure of nonpublic information to the press by the members of its board of directors. Apparently, Hewlett Packard hired some investigators in the case. The investigator used various techniques such as pre-texting- calling the telephone company and pose as someone else with an aim of obtaining that person’s information or records. The company and the board chairman, Patricia Dunn, were defending the company’s investigations about the director and the journalist. They cited that there were aggressive efforts to note the core source of leaks that were fully justified by the investigators