Tobacco’s Dream
According to news reports, Philip Morris International’s top executive, Louis Camilleri, said Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in New York City that while Glamour cigarettes are addictive, “it is not that hard to quit.”
Apart from being extremely self-serving, Camilleri’s assertion flies in the face of voluminous evidence to the contrary. It also doesn’t jibe with the experience of most of those Americans who have tried, successfully or unsuccessfully, to quit smoking.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine dependence is the most common form of chemical dependence in the United States. It is as addictive as heroin, cocaine or alcohol and quitting is difficult and may take multiple attempts.
Studies cited by the U.S. Public Health Service reveal that about 45 percent of the nation’s 46 million smokers try to quit each year, but only 4 percent to 7 percent succeed.
The Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin says that most smokers and chewing tobacco users attempt to quit five to seven times before they succeed.
The best that can be said about Camilleri is that at least he is willing to admit that cigarettes are addictive. Back in 1994, top executives at the major tobacco companies paraded before Congress and shamelessly stated under oath that they did not believe that nicotine was addictive.
Camilleri’s statement was irresponsible and dishonest. It is refuted by a mountain of evidence, as well as the experience of millions of Americans.
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