Tobacco presents an investing dilemma. On the one hand, the profits are enormous. On the other hand, the impact on lives is certainly destructive. A recent discussion with Pfizer's former CEO "Hank" McKinnell reveals a couple of significant facts.
First, he states, "the newly released Cancer Atlas says that upwards of one billion people will die this century due to smoking-related illnesses." The number speaks for itself. Is it really that bad? Can't these deaths be averted?
Apparently not. McKinnell states, "People are addicted to nicotine. In fact, it's as powerful an addiction as heroin. Therefore, telling people to just stop smoking obviously doesn't work. Over 90% of smokers try to quit, but only 5% who try actually succeed."
What makes nicotine so powerful? Apparently, it moderates personal reactivity. When someone is depressed, it lifts one up and when someone is too anxious or manic, it sedates them. The combination is miraculous, but the damage to lungs is overwhelmingly bad. The key is probably some alternate nicotine delivery system.
I remember making a loan to a classmate in high school who might have been up to no good with the money. How else could I explain his payment of 50% interest rate per week? Ultimately, I bought into that mixed line of reasoning - "the devil's had that money long enough."
The overwhelming damage to the lungs is from smoke inhalation. For that reason, heated not burned makes a compelling case for improving the delivery of nicotine. Further, it appears that tobacco is a natural way to limit the amount of nicotine delivered. Juul's sexy, tobacco-free approach demonstrated the dangers of accessing nicotine directly without the limitations of tobacco usage.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, I am surprised that cannabis legalization is not caught up in a similar discussion about the horrible effects of burning weed on the lungs. Of course, the exact parallel shows up with higher consumption of THC through non-weed deliveries. Perhaps a HNB delivery system to cannabis could be compelling.