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Stress Can be Overcome Easily by Smoking

Published: 2011-03-01    Views:105 reads

The idea that tobacco is an addictive substance is being challenged in Indonesia's Constitutional Court, according to a story by Angela Dewan for Voice of America.

Over the past two months the court has heard from officials and experts who say tobacco is not addictive, not harmful, does not cause lung cancer, and can be beneficial to health.

A law passed in 2009 that recognizes tobacco as an addictive substance has come under scrutiny and experts have told the Court that the clause defining tobacco as addictive discriminates against tobacco farmers.

Saldi Isra, a professor of constitutional law at Andalas University, West Sumatra, told the court the constitution said everyone had the right to a livelihood and that discrimination against a group of people, in this case tobacco farmers, was against the constitution.

Bambang Sukarno, a lawmaker from a tobacco-growing region in central Java, had asked for the judicial review of the law.

Meanwhile, Aris Widodo, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Brawijaya, East Java, told the court that he had never heard of anyone dying from smoking.

He said smoking could eliminate anxiety, sharpen concentration and calm the nerves. Stress was a major factor in illnesses that were often blamed on tobacco. But stress could easily be overcome by smoking cigarettes, rather than using other expensive drugs, he added.

Source from: Tobacco Reporter
http://act.tobaccochina.net/englishnew/content.aspx?id=45736