Remember When Smoking “In Moderation” Was A-OK?

There was a time, not too long ago, when smoking “in moderation” was not considered hazardous to health. Sound familiar?

In a recent video, Dr. Michael Greger of Nutrition Facts looks into a similar disconnect that exists between available evidence on nutrition science and the practice of medicine.

Highlights:

• “Most deaths in the United States are preventable, and related to nutrition. So, if most death and disability is preventable, and related to nutrition, then obviously, nutrition is the number one thing taught in medical school, right?”

• “Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine yourself a smoker back in the 1950s. The average per capita cigarette consumption was about 4,000 cigarettes a year. Think about that. In the 1950s, the average person walking around smoked a half pack a day.”

• “The media was telling you to smoke. Famous athletes agreed. Even Santa Claus cared enough about your throat to want you to smoke. I mean, you want to keep fit, and stay slender; so, you make sure to smoke. And eat lots of hot dogs to keep trim, and lots of sugar to stay slim and trim.”

• “We know why the American Medical Association (AMA) may have been sucking up to the tobacco industry, refusing to endorse the Surgeon General’s report on smoking, after they were handed a ten million dollar check from the tobacco industry.”

• “But, why weren’t more individual doctors speaking out? Well, there were a few gallant souls ahead of their time, writing in, as there are today, standing up against industries killing millions. But, why not more? Maybe, it’s because the majority of physicians themselves smoked cigarettes—just like the majority of physicians today continue to eat foods that are contributing to our epidemics of dietary diseases.”

• “What was the AMA’s rallying cry back then? Everything in moderation. Extensive scientific studies have proven “smoking in moderation” —oh, that’s fine.”

• “Sometimes, it takes a whole generation for things to change in medicine. The old guard of smoking physicians and medical school professors die off, and a new generation takes its place. But how many patients need to die in the interim?”