To the Editor.—
THE JOURNAL did itself proud with the Nov 23/30 issue on the health aspects of smoking. Beyond the wealth of useful information and wise commentary, lessons are to be learned from a synthesis of the separate contributions when they are viewed from a psychosomatic perspective.
Pollin's editorial1 explicates the key issue: cigarette smoking, perhaps "the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in the country," typically represents a true addiction.
Rational choice can be one important factor in the initial decision about smoking. Efforts to reduce the positive mystique associated with smoking, so well illustrated by the cover, are crucial for the next generation. But for most adults, these are too late. Once addiction occurs, the powerful forces of habituation and physical dependence resist efforts to change it. Indeed, most adults began smoking in an era when its health hazards were unclear, often when they were
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