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The Pros And Cons Of Tobacco

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On January 11, 1964, the United States Surgeon General Luther L. Terry endorsed the research findings of American pathologists that tobacco is an addictive substance ("50 Years of Tobacco Control"). Subsequently, Terry confirmed that nicotine contains addictive and harmful chemicals, and that continuous usage may lead to lung cancer, coronary heart disease, emphysema and bronchitis in users of the delivery devices, like cigarettes ("50 Years of Tobacco Control"). Moreover, this endorsement dominated newspaper headlines and television newscasts across the United States, resulting in television and radio abandoning cigarette advertisements in 1970. Nevertheless, today, more than 45 million Americans continue to smoke, more than 8 million are living with smoking related health issues, and approximately 500,000 Americans die prematurely each year as a result of tobacco use ("50 Years of Tobacco Control"). However, fast forward over three decades later, Chief Executive Officers (CEO) from one of the top tobacco corporations in the United States testified under oath before a congressional subcommittee “nicotine is not addictive” ("50 Years of Tobacco Control"). On February 4, 1996, Dr. Jeff Wigand, became nationally known as a whistleblower after revealing on the news show “60 Minutes” that the tobacco company that he worked for, Brown & Williamson, not only knew that nicotine was addictive, but manipulated its tobacco properties with other chemicals to enhance it’s

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