Smoke: The Risk and the Controversy

In "The Moral Instinct," Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, describes a new sixth sense. "The moral sense," he calls it. It's the way we, as human beings, determine what issues are moral or amoral. Take smoking, for instance. Years ago, it was widely considered to be a health issue. Many non-smokers didn't smoke because they worried about how cigarettes could affect their lungs and heart. When scientists determined that second-hand smoke was unhealthy too, smoking became a moral issue. Smoking is one of the most widespread bad habits all over the world. In its turn, tobacco industry is one of the most profitable businesses nowadays. Millions of people start smoking, and then decide they want to get rid of this habit, thus the health industry products for smokers who try to quit their habit are also quite attractive to invest in. Nowadays everyone knows smoking is hazardous for the health of the smoker, and of people who inhale cigarette smoke; it leads to lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, influences on prenatal development, and causes many other unpleasant and dangerous effects.
Hot dogs, baseball and cigarettes? How did smoking become an American tradition? The "History of Tobacco" article state, American Indians began using tobacco as early as 1 B.C for medicinal and religious purposes. In the early nineteenth century, tobacco became increasingly popular among the gold miners and cowboys (History of Tobacco). During this era, tobacco became "Good as Gold." In 1913, Camel and Marlboro brands established cigarettes and both creatively began targeting women as a consumer with slogans like "Mild as May," as Boston University medical center stated and "Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet," as stated in the "American Tobacco Company" article. Many Americans experienced the advertised positive