Outback Cheese Fries contain 2,900 calories (menshealth.com). This heart-attack on a plate has been labeled as the number one “worst food in America” by Men’s Health magazine. Add a steak dinner and sweet tea and you’re looking at upwards of 4,000 calories in ONE sitting (daily consumption for the average male is 2,550 calories). Yet, not too many people would turn down a free invitation to such a dinner (I mean…come on! It‘s cheese and bacon!).
Hardees Monster Thick Cheeseburger (with bacon) contains 1,420 calories (according to caloriecount.com). Add fries and a drink and you’re looking at a total of 2,000+ calories in one meal! Yet, would most people deny themselves the luxury of that free meal if it was offered? I doubt it (especially if you’re hungry AND IT‘S FREE!).
I could go on with example after example of foods that we love to eat (don‘t get me started on pizza)…and we KNOW these things are detrimental to the health of our bodies (if consumed on a regular basis). And that’s the point: consumed on a regular basis (repeat this phrase in your mind).
There’s study after study about the cancerous effects of tobacco on the human body (and I agree with the conclusion that regular smoking, chewing, or dipping can lead to serious and deadly consequences). However, I see NO difference between a person who eats three Double Cheeseburgers a day and someone who smokes a pack of Winstons a day…or chews a pack of Redman a day. Apparently, our American Medical Society sees a vast difference, and they have trickled-down that hypocrisy through the ranks of the media machine in our culture…but use some common sense here, people!
Ask the question: Why are two things that have been “proven” to take years off life…put into two different categories? Why is one readily accepted in every town across America, while the other is being excommunicated from the landscape of even small-town society? Are both not based on a choice of the consumer whether to consume it on a regular basis…or in moderation?
Is anyone hogtied to a booth in McDonald’s with a gun to their head, and someone saying, “EAT THAT BIG MAC OR DIE!” Have you ever seen a gas station attendant pull out a shotgun from behind the counter and threaten the person at the register, “YOU BUY A CIGAR…OR ELSE!”? Don’t think so.
In no way am I condoning the regular (addictive) use of tobacco…but in no way am I ever going to condemn a new father who lights up a celebratory stogey at the birth of his first-born son, or the occasional chew among friends who get together (and if I could participate in that celebration without my wife turning me into a eunuch…I would). I’m not going to condemn anyone who orders Cheese Fries at Outback Steakhouse once a month, or even once a week, so how could I condemn an occasional smoke or chew?
Though my wife and I don’t see eye-to-eye on this topic (and you may be with her)…try to find any RELIABLE source of information on the moderate use of tobacco, and the majority of studies and articles you find will report things like, “There’s no such thing as moderately using tobacco.” Then, I guess there must not be a way to be a moderate eater of Cheese Fries either…because those things ARE addictive.
So is it ok to occasionally drink alcohol? Is it ok to have the occasional toke of marijuana? Is it ok to have the occasional injection of anabolic steriods? If I drink in moderation, I won't be drunk, let alone get addicted to it. If I only smoke marijuana in moderation, I won't be high or get addicted. If I only do one cycle of steroids, it won't cause any damage to my liver or kidneys.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about the people who see you take the celebratory smoke of a stogey or occasional dip of snuff. Will there be a flashing sign on your head that says "I'm a Christian, but I don't do this on a regular basis...only with moderation...I'm not addicted."
Tobacco has addictive properties and chemicals. Food....sustains life. Anyone can abuse any aspect of life or take anything to the extreme. That doesn't put everything that can be addictive into the same category. Are some people addicted to food, yes. Are some people addicted to sex, yes. Some people are addicted to eating toilet paper for crying out loud! Does that put toilet paper and tobacco in the same category?
Sorry preachrman...but in your own words, "use some common sense here"
"Are both not based on a choice of the consumer whether to consume it on a regular basis…or in moderation?"
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree about the hypocracy of the food industry, but to be completely fair to both sides... there are groups of people out to educate folks on the dangers of that order of cheese fries and on the dangers of that pack of cigarettes.
I think the biggest gotcha of both sides is that as a society we've all but exonerated the individual of any responsibility for personal actions such as overeating, smoking, alcoholism, or other vices. It tends to come down to personal pleasure, and people want that 'feel good' moment, right now.
However, tobacco smoke does contain known carcinogenic compounds (as does anything burned, to be fair) but also contains nicotine and other chemicals that bind to our nervous system and drive the body to unnaturally seek more of those chemicals. I'm not sure foods, as 'addictive' as they can be, are in the same boat in that regard. A person who has one cigarette a day will soon have two smokes a day, and then three, and soon more as their body grows tolerant of the chemicals and their hold over your nervous system gets stronger. That's the key component of chemical dependence; that you have to continually seek more and more of the same thing to get the desired effect.
There are many psychologists out there who are on the fence as to whether 'addictions' such as internet addiction, food addiction, etc. are truly addictions. Are they compulsive behaviors? Sure. How we define 'addiction' though can make a difference in the type of care we provide people who's lives are impacted negatively by such things.
Very interesting blog post!
i'm thankful for every comment made about this topic. i've been very interested to see what people think about this topic for a while (dogmatic, indifferent, or otherwise), and I appreciate the time everyone takes to make their viewpoint known.
ReplyDeleteJosh, kinda sounds like you may have been smoking a little of that “wacky tobacky” yourself :>). But anyway, I thought I might add my two cents (or puffs in this case). I think you have a good point in that we down play the effects of certain foods, but I believe there is a difference. I myself used to smoke some 30 years ago. That was until I accepted the fact that they didn’t put those warning labels on the side of the pack for no reason. And they are even more specific about what smoking will do now. Those warning labels don’t seem to leave much doubt about it (and there are different ones due to the fact that smoking effects the body in more than one way). I can’t help but remember an article that Alexander Campbell wrote about smoking. Even though they didn’t have the medical knowledge that we do, he said that when the body coughs, it is trying to tell us that it doesn’t what something in it (and boy does a smoker cough). He said that should be prove within itself about smoking. As far as comparing eating unhealthy foods and the use of tobacco, here is my two bites worth. The medical world tells us that we can do certain things (like exercise) to help reverse the affects of those bad eating habits (not that I am a perfect example of that either). I am not aware of anything a person can do to reverse some of the things that smoking can do. And I might also add that when they put that same warning label on the side of certain foods that they put on tobacco products, then I’ll stop partaking of them also. Until then, can you supersize that please? (more excercise coming up).
ReplyDeleteI might add that since there are uses for the tobacco plant other than smoking, chewing, and dipping, the justification for growing it may be there. For instance the nicotine is used as a poison in pesticides and insecticides. However, it doesn't seem like we would wilfully put that same poison into our bodies.
By the way Josh, you've got some good stuff on here (just maybe not this one, lol). Keep up the good work.
I think liquor and tabacco are BOTH in the same category. They hurt your body more ought then not so why kill yourself?
ReplyDeleteThat goes for fast food as well. If you eat it all the time. Every once in a while that is fine, but to eat cholesterol filled junk that won't preserve your life in the long run that's not for me.
ReplyDeletethanks for your input david/pooter
ReplyDelete