[Smoking: health care and politics in flux]

The cigarette is the only legally sold product with carcinogenic, cardiovascular damaging and addictive effects. With a yearly profit of several billions, the tobacco industry supports politicians to solve their tasks, whereas these polticians, do not promote projects against smoking and the protection of nonsmokers, despite of some less compulsory statements. Up to now, the tobacco industry denies the health hazard effects occurring to cigarette smokers after two or three decades. On the other hand, the public health insurance do not provide any financial support for smoking prophylaxis and smoking cessation. Instead of this, they have to cover costs for subsequent health injuries, early disability included, which are more than 100-1000 times higher. The solidary community has to finance the pensions for relatives of those numerous smokers, who died early, and whose lives were shortended by provable 5 to 6 years. Politicians refuse to represent the will of a population majority for measures to prevent nonsmokers.