Basically bullshit because smoking does not always kill

Yesterday I wrote The Gruesome Graphic

I woke up in the night wondering what "fifteen cigarettes" meant. Fifteen a day? Fifteen in a life?

"The ads will tell smokers that just 15 cigarettes can cause a mutation that leads to cancerous tumours in what marks a return to shock campaigning."

The video actually says WILL - WILL cause mutations.

 "People will see a man smoking and then a cancer growing out of the cigarette. That is what happens in people's bodies."

No wonder such an ad can be so easily dismissed from the sensible mind  - "More than a third of smokers still believe the health risks from smoking are greatly exaggerated, recent statistics from the Department of Health showed"

And no wonder - this is basically bullshit.  15 a day? for 20 years? for 30 years? for 50 years? Or simply 15 cigarettes?

In the BBC interview it was scientists who could tell this 15 cigarettes (15 a day? for 20 years? for 30 years? for 50 years? Or simply 15 cigarettes?) causing mutations by what they saw in a petrie dish.

 "People will see a man smoking and then a cancer growing out of the cigarette. That is what happens in people's bodies."

This is not what happens in people's bodies. It's what happens in the ad.

In people's bodies it is far more complex, they are not petrie dishes. At least half or more of all smokers can hit old age totally fit and well. Why is that?

Trouble is, we don't know why. And that's the reason that shock ads like the tumour growing cigarette seem like lies.They are simply not true - and can never be until we know why smoking doesn't always kill.