Why is the number of smokers declining in the United States, but growing here? Is it all the State Department's fault?

I would like to share my personal observations on the fight against smoking in the USA. After 10 years, I visited New York again and noticed one very important feature - Americans stopped smoking. At least it's not noticeable. For several days I could not understand what was missing around me, but at one point I noticed that my clothes did not smell of tobacco smoke. You walk around the city, ride in an elevator, take a taxi, go to a restaurant or bar, attend meetings and don’t see people smoking. The only place where Europeans and Russians inhaled the smell of tobacco was the area near the hotel. Since 2002, New York has taken strict anti-smoking measures. Smoking is prohibited in bars, restaurants, clubs, public places, inside buildings, etc. The effect was not long in coming. Today, less than 15% of New Yorkers smoke. A large-scale anti-smoking campaign in the United States is yielding results. In the peak year of 1965, 42.4% of American adults smoked, in 2009 - 20.6%. The American experience in combating smoking is worthy of adoption.

Now some sad statistics. In Russia, 44 million people smoke (65% of men and 30% of women); at the age of 15-19 years, 7% of girls and 40% of boys smoke. Every year about 400 thousand people die from smoking in Russia. For comparison, about 30 thousand people die in car accidents.

Back in Nazi Germany, studies were conducted on the dangers of passive smoking, which leads to lung cancer, heart disease, etc. 35% of Russians are exposed to passive smoking at work, 78% in restaurants, 90% in bars. In addition to tobacco smoke, we inhale toxic emissions from motor vehicles, thermal power plants, chemical plants, etc.

Transnational tobacco lobbies will fight to the last with all their influence and will make every effort to prevent the adoption of anti-smoking legislation. Like an octopus, they spread their tentacles and penetrated into all areas of decision-making in the state. They sit in parliaments, in governments, and are brainwashed through the media and advertising. For them, people are guinea pigs who can be poisoned with nasty things, receiving super-profits in return. How do tobacco “kings” differ from “drug lords”? Why are some held in high esteem while others fight?

I am sincerely convinced that taking strict measures to combat smoking will save hundreds of thousands of lives. There is no need to ban smoking, but it is necessary to take strict restrictive measures on smoking in public places - restaurants, bars, clubs, trains, inside buildings, on stairwells in the entrances of houses, etc. At the same time, the freedom of smokers cannot be limited, but at the same time the right of non-smokers to breathe fresh air cannot be limited. If someone wants to poison themselves, let them smoke, but why should others poison themselves? Recently a law was passed to protect children from harmful information. Those. It turns out that since there is no law to protect children from smoking, it does not harm them, but watching some movie or program has a detrimental effect on the younger generation?

We wonder why the country is dying out; some leaders blame the State Department and some lunatics for all the troubles. In fact, many problems lie on the surface. Life is too short to kill with tobacco smoke. Breathe clean air and enjoy the beauty of nature!