Recently, I traveled to northwest Argentina and was surprised to see so many tobacco plantations. As a non-smoker, I took pleasure in chiding the guide. "Tobacco smoke kills," I said to him, "why don't they plant something healthy in its place?" he looked at me rather perplexed and said, "It's good for the local economy. The margins are higher." Never mind that it kills people, it generates income for the locals. So right away I knew that in the battle between right and wrong, profit trumps right. "Well, I thought, "this is Argentina, a struggling country trying to improve the common lot by whatever means."
The big shock came when I returned to my home in Toronto and learned, fortuitously, that my home province of Ontario is the largest tobacco producer in Canada! Wealthy, conservative Ontario, with strong Victorian morals, isn't any better, or perhaps worse, than struggling Argentina. Toronto was a leader in establishing regulations for smoke-free environments, in both work and public places, yet we produce more tobacco than Argentina!
The following dialogue is between two chimpanzees named Abu and Mabu: I use A and M to distinguish the speaker.
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M: You recall that discussion we had on health?
A: I sure do!
M: Well. You won't believe what I'm going to tell you. Do you know what those plantations on top of Old Smokey are?
A: You mean those fields that have tall leafy plants?
M: Yeah. Those.
A: What about them?
M: They're tobacco plants.
A: What do they do with them? Surely they don't eat those yucky leaves. They're so bitter; they sicken the stomach. I chewed some once and they were revolting.
M: They don't actually eat them.
A: Well. That's silly. They do all that work planting and collecting them for nothing?
M: No. What they actually do is even worse.
A: What's that?
M: Workers collect the leaves and send them to factories where they dry them and then roll them into little tubes called cigarettes and bigger ones called cigars, which are sold to people. Anyways, those who buy them burn them and inhale their smoke. Isn't that the damnedest thing you ever heard?
A: That's so insane! Smoke kills! Surely they know that. On the other hand, everything humans do produces smoke: driving cars, cooking food, heating homes, etcetera.
M: Oh. I'm sure they know. After all, they're intelligent beings!
A: They knowingly grow and sell something that will make them and others sick and eventually kill them. How intelligent can they be?
M: It's all done in the name of capitalism. Some people must suffer and die so that others can live in luxury. The question you should ask is, why do people smoke? No one is forcing them to!
A: I'm sure you know the answer all too well. Humans enjoy taking risks, even with their lives, but somehow the invisible hand of the wealthy cigarette makers is there to guide them.
M: Of course! Tobacco has addictive substances, and once people start smoking it's hard to stop. That invisible hand must give out a lot of free cigarettes, along with promotional stunts aimed at portraying smoking a sociable and fun activity. They sow the seeds in people's minds and do everything in their power to ensure that they germinate. For them it's short-term pain for long-term gain. Once they are hooked, there's no mercy!
A: Is this what the human race has come to, killing each other for profit?
M: That's about it Abu; as you always remind me, humans are crazy apes!
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We Ontarians are responsible for the suffering and death caused by our home-grown tobacco industry. Yet, not many of us even know about it! Nevertheless, we must accept the fact that we're accomplices to murder. By allowing tobacco to be grown, we're condoning the killing of people!
Tobacco plantations could be easily converted to producing healthy vegetables that Ontarians desperately need more of. Why have we not prohibited tobacco growing?
The Canadian government spent billions of dollars trying to curb tobacco smoking and did very little to eliminate tobacco growing!
Tobacco production more than doubled in the last decade and will continue to grow. I suppose funeral services providers will not be unhappy with a growing tobacco industry! But, what about the rest of us?
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The Crazy Apes: A Satire of Human Society
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