Drug-taking is normal, nicotine use noble

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

This report from the Lorillard Tobacco Co. provides us with what may be the tobacco industry's operative philosophy: that drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors are a normal part of human existence, and that administration of nicotine to treat stress is a "noble" action.

Operative quotes:

All recorded civilizations have developed the means to cushion harsh realities by the use of drugs, and most have accepted this as a natural human function. Only over the last 100 years has the use of drugs (with the attendant risk for a small minority) been frowned upon. This disapproval has been based on several different aspects of the problem, from a quasi-religious approach ('an assault on the temple of God') to a fearful concern for degraded humanity. Few have queried the underlying reasons for this consistent human endeavor, the development of drugs that induce tranquility of euphoria. Our view is that is it related to the state of receptivity of the human mind, which is subject to a multitude of stimuli that eventually it requires some dampening effect....We have also learned that certain chemicals bring relief of the so-called 'stress' which enables the mind to continue in a more enjoyable 'frame'. In this sense, the use of nicotine is noble, for it is a truly ingenious solution to the management of the internal environment....

Title: The Concept of Less Hazardous Cigarettes
Per. Author: David M. Conning
Date: 19780515 (May 15, 1978)
Type: Report
Bates No. 01414847/4853
Collection: Lorillard
Pages: 7
URL: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jcd91e00