And what exactly do you base this belief on?

Did you miss the post half a page up by einvolk?

Well, what are the rewards of cigarette smoking? Apart from intangible pleasure, the most obvious is behavioral. A battery of studies, such as those by British researcher D.M. Warburton, show that cigarettes, whatever their other effects, really do stimulate alertness, dexterity and cognitive capacity.

And alertness, dexterity, etc., can be useful. Such as when driving. Or flying-as Congress recognized when it exempted airline pilots from the ban on smoking on domestic flights.

These behavioral benefits suggest an answer to the Great Tobacco Mystery: why almost a third of adult Americans continue to do something they are told, incessantly and insistently, is bad for them. (Duke University economist W. Kip Viscusi reported in his 1992 book, Smoking: Making the Risky Decision, that survey data show smokers, if anything, exaggerate the health danger of their habit).

Smokers, according to numerous studies such as those by University of Michigan researchers Ovide and Cynthia Pomerleau, are different from nonsmokers. They tend toward depression and excitability. Current understanding is that nicotine is "amphoteric" that is, it can act to counter both conditions, depending on how it is consumed. (Quick puffs stimulate, long drags calm.)

The implication is fascinating. A large part of the population seems to be aware of its significant although not pathological personality quirks, and to have discovered a form of self-edication that regulates them.

Of course, this explanation for the stubbornness of smokers is not as satisfying as what Washington prefers to believe: mass seduction by the wicked tobacco companies and their irresistible advertising. Nor would it justify huge rescue operations by heroic politicians and bureaucrats.

Beyond its behavioral effects, smoking seems also to offer subtler health rewards to balance against its undisputed risks:

Parkinson's disease. The frequency of this degenerative disorder of the nervous system among smokers appears to be half the rate among nonsmokers – an effect recognized by the Surgeon General as along ago as 1964.

Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, the frequency of this degenerative mental disorder has recently been found to be as much as 50%less among smokers than among nonsmokers for example, by the H studies reviewed in the International Journal of Epidemiology in 1991.

Endometrial cancer. There is extensive and long-standing evidence that this disease of the womb occurs as much as 50% less among smokers as documented by, for example, a New England Journal of Medicine article back in 1985. The triggering mechanism appears to be a reduction on estrogen levels.

Prostate cancer. Conversely, smoking seems to raise estrogen levels in men and may be responsible for what appears to be a 50% lower rate of prostate cancer among smokers, although this needs corroboration.

Osteoarthritis. This degenerative disorder of bone and cartilage is up to five times less likely to occur among heavy smokers as documented, for example, by the federal government's first Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Colon cancer, ulcerative colitis These diseases of the bowel seem to be about 30% and 50% less frequent among smokers documented, for example, by articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association and in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1981 and 1983, respectively.

Other benefits that have been suggested for smoking: Lower rates of sarcoidosis and allergic alveolitis, both lung disorders, and possibly even acne. Smokers are also lighter ironically, because obesity is a leading cause of the cardiovascular disease that smoking is also supposed to exacerbate. So you could quit smoking and still die of a heart attack because of the weight you put on.

Tobacco is and was a definitive characteristic in the making of our nations in North-America... and had a huge impact in Europe for centuries, defining what a westerner was. One who dress in cotton and smoke the pipe.

Any talks against Tobacco is idiotic. No health issues is relevant in the balance. Smoking have done a lot more good in the world than bad. Same with coffee. Same with alcohol. Engines of great civilizations!

It is not as great as coffee in it's shaping of the world, but it's in the balance. Coffee and cigarette are the stuff of legends, of literary genius, of philosophers and of revolutionaries. If we lose them, we lose our soul!

Everyone should smoke, at least socially.

In my state, indoor smoking and smoking near the doors to buildings has been outlawed. I think this is reasonable. I'm not getting polluted by other people's choices.

You have an excellent point about the cars however.

Tobacco is and was a definitive characteristic in the making of our nations in North-America... and had a huge impact in Europe for centuries, defining what a westerner was. One who dress in cotton and smoke the pipe.

Any talks against Tobacco is idiotic. No health issues is relevant in the balance. Smoking have done a lot more good in the world than bad. Same with coffee. Same with alcohol. Engines of great civilizations!

It is not as great as coffee in it's shaping of the world, but it's in the balance. Coffee and cigarette are the stuff of legends, of literary genius, of philosophers and of revolutionaries. If we lose them, we lose our soul!

Everyone should smoke, at least socially.