Individual and Institutional Implications of Building a Smoke-Free Society (Indywidualne oraz instytucjonalne implikacje budowania spo³eczenstwa wolnego od palenia)

Cigarette smoking is the cause of more premature deaths than traffic accidents, AIDS, other drugs, alcohol, homicide and suicide taken jointly. Eliminating smoking would curb the cost of reduced employee productivity, smokers’ treatment and premature mortality. It would seem, therefore, that it is in the interest of the society, employers and addicted individuals to free the world from smoking. At the same time, Poland is among the largest tobacco producers in Europe, and the sale of tobacco products is a source of significant state budget revenues. Health, social and economic losses resulting from the harms of smoking are contrasted with the potential economic and budgetary losses, and the inevitability of the emergence of a shadow economy if tobacco products were to be delegalized. Current social, medical and legal measures aimed at the reduction of tobacco consumption do not have the desired effect and require a radical change in approach. It is not nicotine that kills smokers, but tar created in the process of burning tobacco leaves. Replacing highly harmful tobacco smoking with nicotine delivery products, which are safer by an order of magnitude, is presently the most viable way to improve public health and the quality of life of people addicted to nicotine.