The Warning Is Clear​—Are You Listening?

“CAUTION: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.” The U.S. government decreed in 1965 that cigarette manufacturers must display these words on their packages. Five years later, this caution gave way to, “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.” Now the law requires that four separate, more specific warnings appear on a quarterly rotational basis. Is this justified? Consider reports from around the world and decide for yourself.

“Surgeon General’s Warning: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy”:

“Cancer studies by the Ministry of Health and Welfare have shown that . . . in Japan . . . half or more of the lung cancer cases can be traced to smoking.”​—Asahi Evening News.

“Scientific statistics are proving that there is a close relationship between smoking and lung and blood vessel diseases, a chest surgeon with the University of Zimbabwe’s department of surgery, Dr Douglas Thompson, has said.”​—The Herald.

“Around 2 per cent of emphysemics inherit the disease and a tiny proportion develop it as a complication of other problems . . . But for the majority [of victims in Britain], . . . the disease is caused by smoking.”​—The Times.

“Surgeon General’s Warning: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide”:

“A less noticeable but perhaps more dangerous effect of cigarette smoking . . . is the production of carbon monoxide . . . Researchers . . . found that as carbon monoxide increased, driver ability to judge time and distance and to determine a change in the rate of speed of a car in front on the road were adversely affected. There were also slight changes in normal driving.”​—The Scientific Case Against Smoking.

“Surgeon General’s Warning: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health”:

“When a person stops smoking, the benefits to the heart and circulatory system begin right away. The risk of heart attack, stroke, and other circulatory diseases drops. . . . The risk of smoking-related cancer begins to decline and within a decade the risk is reduced to that of the nonsmoker.”​—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Surgeon General’s Warning: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth and Low Birth Weight”:

“Virtually all of the more than 50 studies published, involving more than half a million births from many countries and ethnic groups, have been consistent in demonstrating that maternal smoking has an adverse effect on birthweight. . . . The risk of spontaneous abortion is 30 to 70 percent higher among pregnant smokers than among nonsmokers and increases with the number of cigarettes smoked. . . . Children of women who smoke during and after pregnancy experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality up to the age of 5 years.”​—The Health Consequences of Smoking: The Changing Cigarette—​A Report of the Surgeon General.

Governments and the medical profession do well in issuing warnings. But the final result depends on the individual. As the Bible says: “The way of the foolish one is right in his own eyes, but the one listening to counsel is wise.” (Proverbs 12:15) Are you listening?