^{Religion and Tobacco}

^{Dear S.M.A.R.T.:}

^{Some encouragement for the faint-hearted!}

^{I’m sure some S.M.A.R.T. sympathisers don’t take an active stance against religion because their attitude is, “Religion is so powerful. There are billions of followers all over the world. It is a hopeless task!”}

^{30 years ago there were many anti-smoking sympathisers who had the same attitude towards the tobacco industry. "The industry is so powerful. There are billions of addicts all over the world. It is a hopeless task!”}

^{For the benefit of younger S.M.A.R.T. members (in Canada)…}

^{Until about 30 years ago cigarette smoking was pervasive. Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, billboards - everywhere the message was the same; smoking was the adult, sophisticated thing to do. It calmed you down. It perked you up. It was sexy. It made you feel good! "4 out of 5 doctors prefer the smooth taste of Camel cigarettes" ran one radio ad! The dangers of the lethal chemical cocktail in cigarettes were either ignored or downplayed by smokers and the tobacco industry alike.}

^{Compare that situation to what we have today. Smoking is banned almost everywhere. Cigarette advertising is nowhere to be seen. More and more people view the practice of smoking as anti-social and harmful. Under the weight of impending law suits the tobacco industry teeters on the brink of collapse.}

^{How did this massive change occur?}

^{In the 1960’s and 70’s there were a few people who knew the truth about cigarettes and who cared that so many other people were dying prematurely, sometimes in great pain, because of their addiction to nicotine. They understood that to change that terrible situation the public needed to hear the truth about the dangers of cigarette smoking and how the tobacco industry was working to suppress that information.}

^{At that time anti-smoking campaigners were regarded by most people as extremists and maybe slightly weird. But now, with the benefit of hindsight, can anyone deny that they were right?}

^{Another defeatist attitude is that “It’s always been that way… so it will continue to be.” It is true that religion has been around a lot longer than cigarette smoking, but the principle is the same. Religion and the tobacco industry are now travelling on parallel paths. Both of them prey on a weakness in human beings and both of them are crumbling in the face of truth and common sense.}

^{I am grateful to the anti-smoking campaigners for showing what amazing things can be achieved when good people have the courage to challenge an established evil.}

^{Macy Strathmore, Toronto, Canada}

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