Recommended Reading

Up In Smoke: From Legislation To Litigation In Tobacco Politics
by Martha A. Derthick
Martha Derthick introduces new evidence from 5 years of experience under the MSA to show that the states were more interested in raising revenue than in improving tobacco control, that the enrichment of wealthy tort lawyers violated the legal profession's ethics, and that the agreement, ironically, spawned the rise of small, upstart cigarette manufacturers able to undersell the major companies. In this clearly written, fast-paced case study, Derthick concludes that the tobacco lawsuits not only produced flawed public policy that flouted the American system of checks and balances, but has done little to improve or better safeguard public health.

Thank You for Smoking
by Christopher Buckley
Christopher Buckley's satirical gift shines in this hilarious look at the ironies of "personal freedom" and the unbearable smugness of political correctness. Bracing in its cynicism, Thank You for Smoking is a delightful meander off the beaten path of mainstream American ethics. And despite his hypertension-inducing, slander-splattered, morally bankrupt behavior--which leads one Larry King listener to describe him as "lower than whale crap"--you'll find yourself rooting for smoking's mass enabler. --Rebekah Warren

Cancer Scam: Diversion of Federal Cancer Funds to Politics
by James T. Bennett, Thomas J. Dilorenzo
According to James T. Bennett and Thomas J. DiLorenzo, authors of Cancerscam, smoking can be good for society, if not for the smoker. Consider all the money the government could save, for instance, on social security if millions of people die young from smoking-related illnesses. Much of Bennett and DiLorenzo's book is taken up with their argument that the government's campaign against smoking is intrusive and unwarranted. They liken smoking to other hazardous choices such as skydiving or skateboarding and point out that there is no national campaign to educate practitioners of these activities. They then launch into an attack on the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, which they accuse of diverting funds into an antismoking program run by a left-wing public interest organization. Cigarette manufacturers and major stockholders in tobacco companies will love this book; those who deal with the medical, social, and personal fall-out from smoking, on the other hand, will find little to agree with here.

Slow Burn : The Great American Antismoking Scam
(And Why It Will Fail)
by Don Oakley
"Slow Burn" is a highly personal but thoroughly documented journey by the author, Don Oakley, to find out the truth behind the supposed medical facts undergirding the nation's three-decades-long crusade against smoking. He begins with a searching critique of the 1964 surgeon general's report, which set the crusade into motion, and details the reservations of the surgeon general's advisory committee regarding the seven weak studies which formed the basis for the famous warning that "Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficent importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action." It was that "action"--or, more accurately, actions--flowing from the report over the past three decades that persuaded the author, a retired newspaper editorial writer, to undertake his book.

Does Advertising Increase Smoking?
Economics, Free Speech and Advertising Bans
by Hugh High

For Your Own Good : The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health
by Jacob Sullum
In this controversial book, Jacob Sullum demolishes the leading claims of the antismoking movement; their assertions have been advanced, he says, because the movement's principals would like the government to take control of the tobacco industry. Have you heard that secondhand smoke is bad for you? "There is no evidence that casual exposure to secondhand smoke has any impact on your life expectancy," writes Sullum, a drug policy expert and senior editor at Reason magazine. The debate over smoking is really more about the nature of liberty--how should a society restrict the choices of its members?--than it is about public health.

The People Vs. Big Tobacco : How the States Took on the Cigarette Giants
by Carrick Mollenkamp (Editor), Adam Levy, Joseph Menn (Editor), Jeffrey Rothfeder (Editor)
The People Vs. Big Tobacco: How the States Took on the Cigarette Giants is a blow-by-blow account of how the "Mother of All Lawsuits" was eventually settled, who the major players were, and what the settlement actually means for the future of Big Tobacco.

Cornered : Big Tobacco at the Bar of Justice
by Peter Pringle
There are many threads to be pulled together, and Peter Pringle pulls them nicely.... Cornered, in its meticulous explanation, is finally an illustration of what's wrong with using the courts--or a regulatory agency, for that matter--to resolve a social mess.

The Nazi War on Cancer
by Robert N. Proctor
Familiar as we are with the horrific history of Nazi medicine and science, it may come as a surprise to learn that the Nazi war against cancer was the most aggressive in the world. Robert N. Proctor's thought-provoking book, The Nazi War on Cancer recounts this little-known story. The Nazis were very concerned about protecting the health of the "Volk." Cancer was seen as a growing threat--and perhaps even held a special place in Adolf Hitler's imagination (his mother, Klara, died from breast cancer in 1907). The Nazi doctors fought their war against cancer on many fronts, battling environmental and workplace hazards (restrictions on the use of asbestos) and recommending food standards (bans on carcinogenic pesticides and food dyes) and early detection ("men were advised to get their colons checked as often as they would check the engines of their cars...").

Silencing Science
by Michael Gough, Steven J. Milloy
Science has been a major contributor to the health and wealth we enjoy today, but not everyone is happy with it. Science can get in the way of social and environmental activists, politicians, lawyers, and government regulators. This book is a tongue-in-cheek "how-to" manual for the concerned citizen annoyed by "pesky" science. The authors describe more than 20 efforts of individuals and organizations to stop science in its tracks using techniques ranging from defunding scientific research to squashing scientific debate to substituting "junk" science for real science. Their witty descriptions illuminate the mischief that has followed successful and all-to-real efforts to thwart true science and offer stark reminders of the risks that follow when real science is silenced.