Kicking the Habit - Current Events

        In the article, “Kicking the Habit,” by Robert Elder, Elder explains the fight against smoking starting all the way back to the 1960s and the concerning new rise of electronic cigarettes. Back in the 1960s smoking was incredibly popular, so much so that “half of American men were smokers and a third of American women were smokers,” so the government decided to take action. The Surgeon General and various doctors made it their mission to inform the public. It seems to have worked quite well because now only 18% of Americans identify as smokers. However, there is a new problem that the article explains. Robert Elder explains the world of electronic or “e-cigarettes” and how problematic they can be.

While Elder explores the world of “e-cigarettes” we can see what a threat these new cigarettes can cause. In the article, before e-cigarettes are even mentioned, the reader gets a lengthy description of the history of cigarettes, and the manipulation tactics big tobacco used to keep people buying their cigarettes. Cigarette companies did despicable things such as hiring actors to play doctors and marketing to children. This kind of behavior, to a lesser extent is evident. “E-cigarettes can come in flavors - which critics say is an attempt to get children to start smoking.” Here, the author draws a parallel to the way in which old cigarette companies used a different tactic to market to children, which involved the cartoon character “Joe Camel.” The article also mentions how e-cigarette companies advertise, “including celebrity endorsements from Stephen Dorff and Jenny McCarthy.” This is similar to advertisements in the 50s in 60s, in which a Harvard Professor spoken to by Elder says “I see the companies trying to make it cool to smoke again.” These e-cigarettes don’t just follow the steps of cigarette companies marketing-wise, they are also attempting to get a new generation of people addicted to smoking. It apparently doesn’t matter whether it is vapor or smoke, though it is better for your lungs. Still, it is the nicotine that’s bad, the smoke produced by normal cigarettes is just a side effect. Robert Elder is clearly trying to get the reader to understand the new problem with this “fad.”

Elder’s implication that e-cigarettes could possibly be as disastrous as cigarettes were in the 50s in the 60s really changed my view on e-cigarettes. I don’t think I’d ever smoke any type of cigarette, but I thought that the ability to smoke without harming your or anyone else’s lungs was a great idea. People would finally be able to smoke without harming anybody. But it turns out, electronic smoking is harming people. It may not cause lung cancer, but it is addictive, and addiction is a big problem. This article has proven its point, that e-cigarette smoking is more dangerous than previously thought.