{"id":105,"date":"2007-07-13T03:01:59","date_gmt":"2007-07-13T03:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/why-do-europeans-smoke-so-much-section-a.html"},"modified":"2007-07-13T03:01:59","modified_gmt":"2007-07-13T03:01:59","slug":"why-do-europeans-smoke-so-much-section-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/07\/why-do-europeans-smoke-so-much-section-a.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Europeans Smoke So Much? Section A"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: European Reflections 2006 <\/em>
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post I noted that Europeans, in general, smoke more than Americans, in general. (Only the Swedes smoke less than Americans.) Plus, much of European smoking occurs in public places, even though many countries have laws limiting such activity, just as in the U.S. I was pleasantly surprised, for example, to find a snack bar\/pub in the Nice airport that was designated no smoking, and nobody was smoking there. (Photo to the right: A sign in a cafe in the airport in Nice, France)
\nI wonder why Europeans smoke more than Americans. My puzzlement is increased by the fact that Europeans tend to be more health conscious than Americans. For example, the obesity rate for the U.S. is about three times that of Europe (see David M. Cutler and Edward L. Glaeser, Why Do Europeans Smoke More Than Americans?<\/em>, Figure 2; you can download a PDF here<\/a>). Moreover, Europeans are usually more liberal than Americans, and in my experience, liberals are more apt than conservatives to restrict smoking and to demonize smokers. So, given Europe’s health consciousness and liberalism, I would expect less smoking in Europe, not more. Thus my wonderment: Why do Europeans smoke more than Americans?
\nIf you have any pet theories of your own, I’d love to hear them. Please add them to the comments section of this blog entry. Meanwhile, I’ll report in on three of my own ideas.
\nReason #1: Europeans Smoke More Because They’re Less Aware of the Health Risks Associated with Smoking<\/em>
\nReason #1 is not my own. It’s the conclusion of a recent study by two researchers, David M. Cutler and Edward L. Glaeser. According to Cutler and Glaeser, Europeans do indeed smoke more than Americans, a fact that is made even more surprising by the higher price of cigarettes in Europe and the larger number of anti-smoking regulations. So what accounts for this unexpected difference? “Almost one-half of the smoking difference appears to be the result of differences in beliefs about the health effects of smoking; Europeans are generally less likely to think that cigarette smoking is harmful.”
\nOf course Europeans have access to the same information about the dangers of smoking that Americans do. But, according to Cutler and Glaeser, anti-smoking activism is much more prevalent in the U.S. than in Europe. While staying with some friends in France, we confirmed this observation. Their four children, who were educated in French schools, heard very little about the health risks associated with smoking. By contrast, my children began learning about such things in kindergarten, and it was emphasized year after year. I remember my kindergarten-aged daughter talking as if all smokers were sure to drop dead in a moment. (As a non-smoker, I didn’t mind my daughter’s bias. But it did seem like the school was exaggerating just a bit.)
\nIn my next post in this series I’ll put up two additional reason why, in my opinion, Europeans smoke more than Americans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: European Reflections 2006 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I noted that Europeans, in general, smoke more than Americans, in general. (Only the Swedes smoke less than Americans.) Plus, much of European smoking occurs in public places, even though many countries have laws limiting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-european-reflections"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Do Europeans Smoke So Much? Section A - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}