America’s New Tobacco Crisis: The Rich Stopped Smoking, the Poor Didn’t

William Wan – The Washington Post:

Americans have finally done what once seemed impossible: Most of the country has quit smoking, saving millions of lives and leading to massive reductions in cancer.

That is, unless those Americans are poor, uneducated or live in a rural area.

…

The last time Cassell tried to quit was three months ago, after a doctor’s test gave her a lung cancer scare. “It was like losing my best friend,” she said. “My cigarettes have kept me company for 40 years, longer than just about anyone in my life.”

Addiction is like that: it persists despite logic and reasoning.

The same people tend to die younger, too.

#smoking #education #health