When I joined politics in 1986, there were indeed smoke-filled backrooms, of men (and a few women) making big decisions for the masses. Little did I know I was on the cusp of social change. This link describes that transition.
These days, it is unlikely you will find smoke-filled political rooms. Very few politically active workers are into this habit. The few smokers who remain wait for a break to get their nicotine fix. So, we can say that there really is no “mixing tobacco with politics” anymore.
According to the statistics I have come across, about 20% of Canadians and Americans still use tobacco. While that is a far cry from 60 years, it is still big business for the tobacco industry.
Also according to these statistics, tobacco users are in the lower classes. In other words, the very people who can least afford this habit are the ones imbibing in it. The tobacco industry profits by keeping poor people poor.
A Smoking House
I grew up with smoking in my house. My mother was a smoker; she needed her fix every few hours. My father likes cigars, pipe, and snuff; but he often quit tobacco for a week or two. I don’t think he was ever addicted. We had many visitors who were smokers. There were lots of ashtrays. Our house was second-hand smoke.
My parents bought into the tobacco advertising and culture: they became sophisticated, rebellious, sexy, self-reliant, and all the other adjectives the tobacco industry was trying to inculcate into its current and future customers.
Many of my generation were smokers. But we were starting to learn of the high health cost of this habit.
I never started. I just didn’t like smoking. The saving of money and health impairment kind of validated my choice, but I just didn’t like smoking. I had other ways to waste my money and kill my cells, which often had me breathing second-hand smoke. Go figure!
Yet the War is not Won
A decade later, the perils of smoking were put into the school curriculums. The media, after no longer being able to rely on tobacco advertising, were getting the health message out in so many ways. And yet — even today with all this messaging — 20% of young people start a tobacco habit for reasons that make little sense today. Smoking has become an activity for losers!
There, I said it. I am prejudiced against smokers. I see smokers as people who have less good judgment than non-smokers. And I have been judging them for a long time.
I had to hire people for my small business. If, during the interview, I smelled tobacco on their clothes, the interview was over for me. There were enough non-smokers around.
About 15 years ago, I had a romantic interest. We were compatible in so many ways. But she was a smoker. I tried to overlook the habit for the good things I saw in her. But I had to conclude that the romance was over.
Taking on a tobacco habit means losing great life opportunities. Should I mention poor judgment again?
Back to Politics
Tobacco usage is no longer an activity of the political classes. And that is a good thing. Young people are not seeing political leaders smoking any more. The lower judgment that comes with the smoking habit is not dominating public policy.
Just as smokers used limit the political participation of non-smokers, now non-smokers are discouraging smokers from participating. Inadvertently, the higher classes have found a convenient way not to include the lower classes in public discourse. Maybe there is a conspiracy here.
Regardless, when 20% of the population feels alienated, this is not good.
I don’t want to be around smokers. So I’m not going to advocate for a return to smoking in political or community meetings. This would include meetings for my alternative democracy. It’s just too hard for non-smokers to be around smokers.
I don’t have a quick answer — except to encourage young people to never start. Smoking means losing money, health, and opportunity while making some rich people a little richer.
All I can say is that a well functioning TDG will be better able to address the forces that really offer nothing good for society, like the tobacco industry — before it inflicts its values on society.
Tobacco & Tiered Democratic Governance
Would I cast my TDG vote to a smoker?
The smoking habit would be at least one strike in the “good character” aspect of casting my TDG vote. But not three strikes.
The tobacco addiction usually starts in the teenage years. If we voted against people who made mistakes in their younger days, there wouldn’t be many people to vote for. And I recognize the nicotine addiction is perhaps the strongest addiction out there. It’s so hard to quit.
So if my neighbor has some good points on “capacity for governance” — and is respectful that non-smokers don’t want the second-hand smoke, I would still consider that person as a viable contender for my vote. But I have to admit my prejudice again: such a person would have to score quite high in my “capacity” category. So if the smoker does get my vote, he/she would be very capable of the job.
Published on Medium 2023
The Good Lessons from the Tobacco Industry
