{"id":35519,"date":"2024-02-08T13:37:52","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T21:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35519"},"modified":"2024-02-08T13:52:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T21:52:54","slug":"the-data-didnt-lie-but-tobacco-executives-did","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-data-didnt-lie-but-tobacco-executives-did\/","title":{"rendered":"The Data Didn’t Lie but Tobacco Executives Did!"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

My professional career was launched at a state-level public health agency where I was part of a small team that led Oklahoma\u2019s anti-tobacco movement. For thirteen years, I worked alongside thousands of allies to collect and analyze data to pass public policies that would reduce tobacco use and improve health. In How to Make the World Add Up<\/em>, Tim Harford\u2019s recap of the tobacco industry\u2019s deceptive marketing practices [1] triggered both nostalgia about my time spent doing that work alongside many incredible and caring professionals and anger that the problem persists today. Having trustworthy data was instrumental in making the case that moved the needle toward positive change. While the data didn\u2019t lie, the tobacco executives sure did.

I believe this was the beginning of today\u2019s era of disinformation, which was kickstarted with Darrell Huff\u2019s book, How to Lie with Statistics<\/em> [2]. As Christians, what does a book like this say about the condition of society\u2019s hearts? Did it sell millions simply so we, the readers, could outsmart the bad guys, or did we, the readers, unwittingly become the bad guys ourselves? Are we purveyors of misleading information? As the world\u2019s greatest propaganda machine, social media has significantly contributed to the problem of fanning the flames of misinformation [3].

Thanks to the revelation of the tobacco industry documents in the 1990s, we now know that major retailers spent billions falsely convincing the public that nicotine was not addictive. Yet behind closed doors, they admitted the truth to one another. Tobacco companies were working hand in hand with expert scientists to purposely addict people through additives [4]. In addition, they manufactured research so they could \u201cprove\u201d their lies. False spiritual teachings follow a similar pattern as bad leadership begets bad leaders. When an R.J. Reynolds executive was asked if he smoked cigarettes, he responded, \u201cAre you kidding? We reserve that right for the poor, the young, the black, and the stupid\u201d [5]. Surely God\u2019s grace ran a bit thin as these industry snake oil salesmen performed the largest national gaslighting experiment ever; their relentless drive for money reflected the darkness of their hearts.

But the perspective of indigenous Natives who, still today, use tobacco ceremonially brought a different slant [6]. While smoking reduced this vulnerable and already slim population, traditionalists saw tobacco as a gift from the creator for prayer and supplication. Used this way for centuries, giving up tobacco would have been akin to Christians giving up the Bible. Cultural battles were flamed by the industry\u2019s product, American Spirit because it was advertised as natural tobacco and featured an indigenous person on the label. The spirit of division grew larger within tribal communities as Christian Natives adopted the opinion smoking is dangerous to the user and others nearby through secondhand smoke. At the same time, traditional leaders were willing to bet their health to retain their religious customs [7]. In Oklahoma, the irony is that most tribal nations are financially supported by revenue generated from smoke shops and casinos. At one point in my early career, before going into public health, I was a tribal employee whose salary was underwritten by these smoke shop profits.

These experiences revealed just how important it is to be a critical thinker. Always consider the source. The tobacco industry was scrupulous in sowing fear and doubt to create power and profit. The same tactics are used by the gun lobby. Similarly, tough-on-crime policies are routine rhetoric during election years, but research has proven that harsher sentences do not deter criminal behaviors, especially those that are rooted in drug addiction and mental health.

Our civilization is at a crossroads. Author Mark Twain said it best that, \u201cTruth is stranger than fiction because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn\u2019t\u201d [8]. What we see happening today are regressive behaviors. Cancel culture dictates that we demolish those who are different than us. I believe one of the biggest challenges facing church leaders is the ability to disciple people to reject the unhealthy tribalism that is poisoning our culture, so we can embrace loving our neighbors across political, racial, cultural, regional, and ideological lines [9].

Anyone can be duped. Harford described in his book that even physicians didn\u2019t initially want to snuff out tobacco! As responsible and educated Christians, we have a higher calling to rise above the rhetoric to discern what we believe, what is God-honoring, and what reflects his unconditional love for all the kingdom\u2019s children. While I am no longer actively working in the tobacco control field, I am proud to have answered the call to love and serve my neighbors by responsibly utilizing statistics to help reduce tobacco use in Oklahoma from 28.7 percent in 2001 to 15.6 percent in 2022 [10]. God willing, the numbers will continue to decline even more so more people can live healthy lives free from disease.
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1. Harford, Tim. How to Make the World Add up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently about Numbers. London: The Bridge Street Press, 2021.

2. Huff, Darrell. How to Lie with Statistics. New York: Norton, 1993.

3. Neil DeGrasse Tyson\u2019s Fascinating Interview With Piers Morgan, n.d. Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dYV5glYwCH8.

4. Jeffrey Wigand: The Big Tobacco Whistleblower, n.d. Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1_-Vu8LrUDk

5. \u201cIndustry Documents Library.\u201d Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu\/.

6. Stearns, Ami E., Andrew L. Spivak, and Michael S. Givel. \u201cBehind the Smokescreen: Native American Tobacco Use in Oklahoma.\u201d International Quarterly of Community Health Education 33, no. 3 (2013 2012): 305\u2013318.

7. \u201cTraditional Tobacco and American Indian Communities in Minnesota – MN Dept. of Health.\u201d Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/communities\/tobacco\/traditional#:~:text=Tribal%20methods%20and%20ingredients%20differ,addictive%2C%20and%20has%20no%20additives.

8. Twain, Mark. Following the Equator: A Journey around the World. Ecco travels. New York: Ecco Press, 1992.

9. Rankin, Dr Wes. \u201cChallenges Churches Face Today.\u201d Nwiba. Last modified October 15, 2020. Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/www.nwibaptist.com\/single-post\/challenges-churches-face-today.<\/p>\r\n

10. \u201cData Show Smoking Prevalence in Oklahoma Continues to Decline.\u201d Health Department<\/i>. Accessed February 8, 2024. https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/health\/news—events\/newsroom\/2023\/ok-smoking-decline.html.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My professional career was launched at a state-level public health agency where I was part of a small team that led Oklahoma\u2019s anti-tobacco movement. For thirteen years, I worked alongside thousands of allies to collect and analyze data to pass public policies that would reduce tobacco use and improve health. In How to Make the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":193,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3048],"class_list":["post-35519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlpg03-harford","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/193"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35519"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35643,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519\/revisions\/35643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}