Cigarettes are the only consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended

Evidence

Cigarettes, which are essentially a vehicle for nicotine, are one of the deadliest products that is marketed worldwide. Cigarettes are the only legalized drug-delivery device that can sicken and kill you if used as intended. Smoking is the leading cause of premature deaths; (McGinnis & Foege, 1993). In countries with high smoking rates, such as China and France, about a third of men will die prematurely of chronic lung disease or lung cancer (Lam, Ho, Hedley, Mak, & Peto, 2001). John Seffrin, the former head of the American Cancer Society, characterized smoking as “the only weapon of mass destruction used against people all over the world.” Smoking is the leading cause of premature deaths; (Smoking biggest killer, 2004). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1622

Categorization

• SHARE: The ‘only weapon of mass destruction used against people all over the world’ quote is a sharp, compact framing worth sending to a public-health-minded friend.