More Doctors Smoke Camels More Than Any Other Cigarette-I Wonder What They Would Think About Green Homes
It wasn’t that long ago, just 50-60 years or so, that there were doctors on television promoting cigarette smoking. The video below is a t.v. commercial that ran in 1949. The spokesperson boldly states that “doctors in all branches of medicine and doctors from all parts of the country prefer Camel…”
An online resource of tobacco facts states:
“About 10 million people in the United States have died from causes attributed to smoking since the first Surgeon General's report on smoking and health in 1964--2 million of these deaths were the result of lung cancer alone.”
Yet, there are millions of people that continue to smoke.
Is it any wonder then that whenever we discover something new or better many of us search for reasons to hold on to the old. We enjoy our way of life and we resist change even when we know it may harm us or cost us in some way.
Now fast-forward to 2009 and consider the features and benefits of green homes. We now know that there are countless harmful toxins and pollutants in many of the materials used to build our homes. We also know that the air inside the average home is more polluted than the air outside.
According to the USGBC, homes and buildings consume approximately 72% of all electricity, 40% of primary energy use and produce 39% of all carbon emissions in the U.S.
Green homes and buildings significantly reduce energy use (25% - 50%), reduce carbon emissions (33% - 39%), use less water (40%) and produce less solid waste (70%) than non green homes.
In sum, we know green homes are healthier, more comfortable and cost less to operate! So what’s up? What is the delay? Why are we not demanding more green homes?
Personally, I think the answers are hidden in the habitual nature of our conditioned patterns of behavior. It took many years for collective public awareness about cigarettes to take hold. It may take us a while to catch on to the issues around green homes.
I know we’ll get there eventually--better sooner than later as far as I am concerned.
I can't help but wonder what future generations will think when they look back at us on the future equivalent of YouTube?
What are your thoughts and feelings on this subject?
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John Thomas MSEE, MBA
(m) 720-771-5594 (e) john.thomas@e3greenhomes.com
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Hi John, Yes, it is really sad about all the Camel smokers. My father was one of them. We did not know how harmful cigarettes were, in the early days. I do hope the green home housing materials are safe. They sound excellent
I have never seen a commercial like that. It is amazing that people would produce an ad like that with a straight face. As far as your question goes, it is opportunity cost. Thermo heat systems cost 20-30k. Hard to swallow, even for the benefits.
Amazing post! I'm always skeptical about reports of some new amzing discovery that is supposed to be good for you. 10 years later it's always a different story, yikes!
Great segue, John. I think the same thing will be going on pretty soon with cell phones.
John:
My mother died of lung cancer and became on of the sad statistics you quote. She always claimed as did Bill Clinton that she never inhaled.
I think it always comes down to money....what is the additional cost of green and what is the recovery period?
This is still so comical. I wonder how all those doctors felt when they later heard the truth.
I remember those commercials. It was interesting to me that the only publication that took these commercials to task was the satire magazine Mad. It caught my attention then, and we need that type of bite again against the misinformation. Meanwhile we are lagging behind even countries like Dubai and Abu Dabai who are embracing and producing green technology. Realtors need to get out front and lead on this one.
I agree- it is availability of green homes and perceived cost of a green home. Americans will need to ease into this....but I do think we are moving slowly into the more self sufficient lifestyles which will include green homes at some point. Knowledge is power! The more people learn of all the bad things in our food and environment one would hope healthier decisions would be made. For us and the environment.
Great analogy. That youtube video is classic. I laughed so hard coffee came out my nose lol. It's amazing how much our world has changed in not so many years.
We've come a long way, baby!
Hi John -- Great post. Too bad 45 years later 25% of the population still smokes. I am only marginally familiar with green building, but I remember reading a drawback for adoption is the additional expense.
I am doing some painting now and I only choose Non-VOC paints. I try to use vinegar and water to clean my floors, and other simple things. It's probably only a dent, but I try.
John, great stuff here. I can't wait to see the day we "ALL" start living green, not just a select few. I even get angry when I see the recycle barrels in my neighborhood never used, and/or full of trash and non recyclables. I am a real stickler on that.
Do they smoke the filter or non-filters??? Hahahaha!
I've always found it funny that humans are so evolved but so many of us hate change. It's an interesting thing.
A little more than 10 years ago some organization was mass mailing Realtors the cassett tape(remember them) " Dead Doctors Don't Lie"!!! The basis of it was; very few of them had little or ANY training in the area of nutrition(despite the fact that their patients sought their advice) and had an average lifespan of only 57-58 years !!!
Wow, so many great comments. Thanks everyone. I'll try to address a couple.
Ginger...I'm sorry to hear about your dad. My mom was a heavy smoker too. It seems like we all have learned this lesson together. Some quicker than others.
J. We don't need geo-thermal or pv solar to have a green homes. There is lots of low hanging fruit that can greatly improve energy efficiency and indoor air environment without breaking the bank. A lot of it is about changing the way we approach things and being willing to do things different.
Carol...I'm sorry about your mom. I don't know what's worse, the denial or the disease it can lead to.
Cheryl...You're right, the stats say it all. Hopefully, more people will listen and start to get the message. I have come to realize that by focusing my business on green homes, a big part of my job is about education.
Gary...I understand your point but it's not just the money. Our values have expanded to include social and environmental issues in addition to economic issues. Of course, the economics are important, but when it comes to health, comfort and quality of life, those things have value too. Having said that, the cost savings in monthly energy bills can easily offset the added costs of most green improvements. So when you consider the cost of operations, green homes usually cost less compared to other similar size homes that are not green.
Joe...Very good points. There are many places in the world that are way ahead of us in terms of the efficiency and performance of homes. We'll catch up eventually...until then, we'll need to do our best to promote green home features and benefits every chance we get. Most people don't know, for example, you can use a FHA 203k loan to purchas a home and make green renovation improvements.
Lisa...I totally agree with everything you say. Unfortunately, the cost myth is one of the biggest hurddles to overcome--see my comments to Gary above.
Michael...Funny and sad, and sick at the same time. Careful with that coffee, you may end up with a stained shirt;-)
Chris...It's interesting how we continue to do things that we know are not good for us. It's also interesting that cigarettes are even available given what we know about them.
Jean & Nathan...Many of us resist change until it clubs us over the head.
Michael...It's true, dead doctors, or anyone for that matter, don't lie.
Thanks again everyone...Here's to healthier homes for all of us.
Cheers,
john
How to Quit Chewing Tobacco: Anyone who has ever tried to quit chewing knows that it is difficult. Doctors are saying that chewing tobacco is even more addictive than smoking. In fact, a person taking 8-10 "chews" a day receive as much nicotine in a day as to a person that smokes 30-40 cigarettes a day. 1. Decide you are going to stop. This is the first step in breaking any habit, and overcoming any addiction, and until you make up your mind to do it, you have little chance of success. 2. Remove the temptation. Chewing tobacco is not as easy to "bum" as are cigarettes and not having any on hand will make it easier to resist the urge. 3. Substitute bubble gum, hard candy, or beef jerky if the desire to have something in your mouth is overwhelming. This will do absolutely nothing for the nicotine craving (the chemical dependency), but it will act as a placebo for your desire to chew. 4. Take a day at a time. Since with most addictions, the first day is usually the hardest, it may help to substitute the nicotine in your tobacco with a nicotine patch or gum, but use this sparingly, and decrease the amount incrementally so that after a reasonable period, you will be completely free of the chemical dependency. 5. Keep yourself busy. Starting to quit this habit when you have a lot of idle time may be difficult, since the idea of having a chew is always right there. If you are involved in something which keeps your mind occupied, there will be less time thinking about what you are missing.
Best regards www.stopsmokinghabits.com
Whoa Julie - John didn't 'put down' anyone, and doing things that are good for health and good for the environment isn't political, just common sense. John - I've been hearing about different ways to build homes, cars, and roads since the 1970s and it does all boil down to people's resistance to change and money. People won't even buy paper towels made from recycled material if it costs a dime more. Not many can afford an additional tens of thousands of dollars in a house. I'm looking forward to the day when cleaner, more efficient homes become affordable, and are what home buyers expect when home shopping.
I'd walk a mile for a camel, but never ride one for a mile. Great post and I have to agree with Jane at number 4. Cell phones aren't all, anything emitting wireless technology is harming us. It's time we all embraced change... it's inevitable.
Doctors smoke camels because they have more nicotine so it will kill them faster. They can't stand that they live a life of shame billing insurance companies 10,000 for an office visit.
Yes, the world changes and us with it. At the risk of being a wet blanket here, can we put these "greenhouse gas emissions" concerns behind us? The head of the study institute in England who initially predicted the melting of the glaciers has now, after the recent revelations of their private emails, said that the earth has actually been cooling since 1995. Science that has a political agenda is not science. Anyone heard from Al Gore lately?
I certainly think before we start demanding green homes, we try to make efficient the homes we already have. Scottsdale, Arizona is aging rapidly and many homes in the South Scottsdale area have windows from the 1960's! Sometimes changing out windows or insulation in attics and roofs can make a huge difference not only for our health, but also for energy efficiency. A single-pain window in the summer equals an outrageous utility bill. I think generations coming up are starting to demand more energry efficiency and a greener home. But if you can't get get older folks to get with the times...remind them that it's going to hit them in the pocket book!
Kudos John! I totally agree!
Cost, cost, cost. Check out today's posts - how many address "correct pricing" as THE most aspect of marketing? Everyone resists higher prices.
I'm not justifying this - just sayin'.
Excellent post, John - Very interesting TV commercial.... Congrats on your feature!
Debi
Excellent post, John!
The more things change...
Or should I say, we've come a long way, Baby.
I couldn't help but note that all the doctors featured in the ad were white men.
Not to mention how many agents have changed their minds too! Back when AR first started janeAnne and I were about the only agents talking about green houses. We caught our fair share of flack too. Agents thought it was just a fad, another angle........have the times changed!
All one has to do is go visit a hospital and step outside in the break area and see that there are still a lot of health practitioners still smoking.
Also in regards to the green houses I have worked with several builders in the past that added green updgrades but the general public is not willing to pay the extra cost for something they can not see or touch. They still compare a "green builders" home prices to a non- green builder and expect them to drop the price all most people see is the visual structure not the actual amenities.
We the people often need to be pushed into doing what's right--for us and for the environment. Government mandates forced auto companies to build more fuel efficient cars; Surgeon General Koop insisted on getting warning labels on cigarettes; our local communities are mandated to cut down on the amount of garbage going to landfills. Once a tipping point is reached, we become much more willing to embrace the change.
Hope this will be the way of green homes, too.
It sounds a little like you're preaching to the choir here. I'm not going to take you on in the cigarette argument, but all the comments about green buildings are chiming in with your comments. This bothers me. Yes. There have been environmentalists around for about 30 years encouraging us to be more responsible stewards of our environment. I whole-heartedly agree with taking better care of the world around us. But when it takes on a political nature and has a politically charged moniker attached to it, it starts getting weird. It starts taking on a radical religious life of its own. "Green"
I'll admit I don't have my green designation (probably because just the name bugs me). Maybe you learn all those statistics in the designation classes, but when people start stating statistics, my head gears start moving. From where do those statistics come? What were the parameters? What were the controls? Etc., etc. Anyone can make any statistics say what they want them to say.
I know I'm probably starting to sound like an eccentric fool to some of you, but there have been times when everyone jumped on the band wagon because all the cool kids were doing it only to discover later that, um, maybe that wasn't the right thing to do. I don't feel like I'm making much sense here and I'm rambling. But maybe you can pull my thoughts together to understand since I apparently can't. I just had to say something. Maybe I'm just the tempest in the pot - playing devil's advocate, but sometimes the solution is worse than the problem. Are we jumping headlong into shark infested waters or are we studying as we go and making informed decisions? Do you understand what I'm trying to say?
First, make sure that we're not tearing down perfectly good homes that were built to last in order to build "green" homes. Consider that the greenest thing to do is to NOT waste the materials that were used to build a home that is still standing (and was likely designed for sustainability because it was built before air conditioning was a gleam in someone's eye). Then, look at how those homes were designed and take a page from their book - we live in an early 1900's house and rarely turn on our AC (window units, not central air, which we don't need), in Central Texas where it gets HOT, before late June/early July, simply because the house was sited properly and the windows open and were placed for the best airflow through the house and we don't NEED air conditioning until the temps reach the triple digits.
By the way, don't assume that everything you "know" (or are told) about smoking, for example, is the absolute truth, any more than greenwashing is. For example, a recent study was done on the fact that 80% of smokers do NOT get lung cancer (bet you haven't heard that statistic bandied about much, if at all, have you?); turns out there's a genetic component that makes 20% of people who smoke more likely to get lung cancer (and more likely to get it whether or not they smoke, by the way, though it does influence how their body processes nicotine). The benefit of this highly politically incorrect (in our current climate) research is that now that that statistic was acknowledged, and studied, and the genetic factor found, we have a clue that might help prevent lung cancer.
Hi John,
As I understand testimonial advertising rules, the FTC assumes that people know it's an advertisement and that the testimonial is being given by a paid actor who may not personally have the experience. Just as Lindsay Wagner may or may not have ever slept on a Sleep Number bed, the "doctor" may never have smoked a Camel in his life. Apparently testimonial advertising is very effective though because it seems that's mostly what we see and hear these days.
I guess since they could not get Walter Cronkite to promote their product a fake doctor was the next best thing.
what a hilarious video....crazy, crazy....kind of like when we thought the Earth was flat and then when someone spoke up, he got into some big trouble.
Great post!
Thanks for sharing :-)
Ahhh John...
You may want to rethink that profile image. You look like you're standing in front of a cannabis plant. Not that I would know what a cannabis plant looks like :)
TLW...ROAR!
Interesting, thought provoking post John:
Here in Northern Virginia, we have definitely seen a lowering of demand for McMansions.
Also, energy efficiency and the associated utility bills seem to be a definite selling point for those of modest means.
Thanks,
Johnny Yankoviak
Hi John, Good point. We do tend to stay with that which is most well known to us.
Great article John! Sad, but I remember that commercial from my childhood, as my father smoked Lucky Strikes (non filter) and passed from emphysema at 73.
John, did you ever hear the saying, hindsight is 20/20. You are doing a great job of Monday morning quarterbacking. I am sure the doctors who made that commerical believed what they were saying. It is so easy to act like a know it all after the fact.
Boulder City Steve
Careful, I think I hear 9 out 10 Realtors prefer green homes coming. In our quest to make homes safer, more fireproof, less likely to fall down in an earthquake, easier to clean, etc etc etc we have introduced things into the air that are potentially harmful.
The statistical question remains, are more lives being saved by the innovations that have been introduced then those that die from the unintended consequences? I think I know the answer but I am not sure. And are those people safer, and or, better off in their own home which they can afford, that is built conventionally then in the home of a landlord paying rent on a home that is much more expensive but theoreticly healthier that they can not afford?
This is a lot like vaccination isn't it? Hundreds of Millions saved from epidemics that maim or kill but a handful suffer from unintended consequences from a vaccine and an urban myth that vaccinations cause autism is born and spreads like wildfire.
Its not a simple problem at all
Nice post John,
Having done a lot of remodeling, general interest in building and I happen to be born over in Skandihoovia... So I grew up with a few things, and I know a bit about glues...
What I am surprised about is the skepticism that comes with this - although I suppose, that is no surprise at all.
I think what we need is more simple things people can do, I am watching a platinum certified residence go up, first in CA... BUT - that does cost some money, and it is a different mindset when building like that.
However, there are lots of things people can do when they build and after... just adding film to the windows to upgrade them, makes a difference... Maybe the calculations could show how that changes our footprint, from less heating and cooling.
Keep it rolling.
Hi John,
It all makes perfect sense but the initial costs, for most people, don't make enough ROI sense. Or is that "cents"?
I do not know the source of all the stats, but cost efficiency and numbers like that can be subject to interpretation. I do know the effort to make homes more energy efficient has caused a lot of the mold problems and issues with internal air quality. Homes can register higher interior levels of mold or toxins just due to lack of air flow and things settling in the carpet.
I think there is tech that is coming along that will make what is being offered now seem very expensive.
A lot of Green home features don't cost anything- such as using passive solar in site orientation. Put in native plants in the landscape to reduce water usage. You don't have to go crazy and put in every Green feature known to man, unless your buyer wants it and can afford it. I'd love to have geothermal- it would reduce my heating and air costs significantly, but it is a longer payback. I can still lower my energy costs by updating my insulation, caulking, and putting in a new HVAC with a higher SEER rating. None of those things would be excessive in cost, and if I go to sell my home in the future, I wouldn't be worried about low appraisal. Let's hope Homestar passes so more people can afford to do energy efficiency upgrades...
Hi John,
Great post. My favorite saying about a new home, if you can smell it, chances are it's toxic.
Paul
It's hard to explain the benefits of paying more for a green house. It's much easier to let them just stare at a pretty granite countertop or high-end appliances while you're explaining a price difference.
A green house should only cost 1% to 3% more to build. The payback comes very quickly for that small differential. We visited a moderately priced new housing development near Pottstown, PA. Prices about $250 to $275. When the first 35 homes were built, the developer moderated the design to go green for only about $1500 more. The newer homes were 50% more energy efficient! A new Harvard study says that for every dollar in energy savings, the value of the house goes up $11 to $20. The math says it all.
Here are my thoughts.
Why are we not in flying cars yet? What happened to the Jetsons? LOL
What happened to the automated kitchen?
Do you remember those commercials?
I know, I'm a little off topic here. But I have a good reason. I completely agree with you and I think you made the point very clearly and I couldn't add to it. Human nature is to resist change. Which is kind of ironic considering change and evolution led to humans inhabiting the Earth. Nice one.