> Nor is the tobacco industry responsible for nicotine's addictive effects.

Devil's advocate: this is not the main problem with tobacco industry. The main issue is that other components of tobacco smoke are carcinogenic.

The main problem is the industry has known for almost a century that severe health problems are linked to smoking tobacco, and spent the better part of that time hiding the truth while addicting a nation.

Now they're concentrating their focus on the Third World, getting millions more addicted where they aren't pestered by pesky "laws."

Nor should they be (although they are, IDK what absence of laws you're talking about, there are pictures of dead children in cigarette packs and advertising is illegal in most of LA). Everyone knows the risks, people smoke because they want to. Or do you think we, citizens of third world countries are all illiterate know nothings who got tricked by tobacco companies? I can't understand people wanting so bad to be other people babysitters. If you don't want to smoke don't, don't want your children to, teach them not to. Is that so hard?

> Everyone knows the risks

No, they probably don't. People don't know that smoking is the leading cause of erectile dysfunction; or that smoking is linked to penile cancer; or what the actual risks of lung cancer are.

People just know that smoking is harmful, but they laugh that off with "I might get hit by a bus tomorrow".

> Or do you think we, citizens of third world countries are all illiterate know nothings who got tricked by tobacco companies?

It's not about citizens of developing world being illiterate know-nothings, it's about tobacco companies being abusive manipulative arseholes who lie and who have millions of dollars to fund those lies.

>No, they probably don't. People don't know that smoking is the leading cause of erectile dysfunction;

Yes, there is a picture of a man covering his genitalia with a thumbs down and a big IMPOTENCE written on the back of cigaret packages:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_packaging_warning_mess...

now don't make people people completely stupid just because they don't have an university degree (or read HN). the fertility/ptence issues are not that famililar (and definitely should be spoken about more loudly, this would have bigger impact than photos of cancerous lungs), but even in very remote and undeveloped places, all know that smoking = potential lung cancer, and that's a very miserable way to die.

but guess what - all sorts of biases step in, we like to lie to ourselves, nicotine addiction isn't neglible either. in 2015, this information is world-widely known for years and years (apart from north korea, maybe), but people like to ignore it. somebody gets cancer from smoking? well man up and blame his own stupidity/weakness.

Any large organic molecule you burn will be carcinogenic. That includes nicotine, any plant, and any paper you wrap it in.