IN MY VIEW: American Lung Association Would Rather Smokers Die than Save their Lives " the Wrong Way "

Re-defining the meaning of paternalism, the American Lung Association on Tuesday boldly and unashamedly told smokers that if they quit smoking the wrong way, it doesn ' t count, essentially condemning the nearly 7 million Americans who are vaping instead of smoking. < br / > < br / > In a < i > Reuters < /i > < a href= " http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ecigarettes-poll-idUSKCN0YF0DE " > article < /a > , the American Lung Association told the nation ' s smokers that: < i > " We think there are certainly more and better ways to quit. When you ' re going to e-cigarettes, you ' re not quitting, you ' re switching. " < /i > < br / > < br / > < span style= " color: #38761d; " > < b > The Rest of the Story < /b > < /span > < br / > < br / > This is perverse paternalism. It is an attempt to so strongly control the lives of smokers that the American Lung Association is literally lying to smokers in trying to control their behavior. < br / > < br / > What the American Lung Association is telling smokers is not merely that they should quit, but that they must quit in the way that the ALA tells them to or they might as well continue smoking. Thus, this message insinuates that the ALA would rather these smokers die than quit the wrong way. < br / > < br / > Let me set the record straight and try to undo some of the damage that the American Lung Association is causing. There is no right or wrong way to quit smoking. What matters for your health is that you quit. The body doesn ' t kn...

Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - May 26, 2016 Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs