May 22

Page Two

Killing Millions to Make Millions 3-13

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and heavy pipe-​smoker, produced this work, titled “Skull With a Cigarette.” This series of articles shows the lives that tobacco takes today, especially in the developing nations, and the toll it takes among women and teenagers.

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Cover and page 2 top: Skull With Cigarette: Collectie Vincent van Goghstichting; Van Goghmuseum, Amsterdam

Aquaculture​—Fish as “Livestock” 14

With fishing resources being overtaxed, will farming the seas come to the rescue?

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Photo: Vidar Vassvik/​Norwegian Seafood Export Council

What If My Parent Falls Short? 24

How can I deal respectfully with someone who has hurt and disappointed me?

Millions of Lives Going Up in Smoke

IT IS one of the best-​selling consumer products in the world. It commands armies of loyal buyers and enjoys a rapidly expanding market. Its delighted companies boast impressive profits, political clout, and prestige. The only problem is, its best customers keep dying off!

The Economist observes: “Cigarettes are among the world’s most profitable consumer products. They are also the only (legal) ones which, used as intended, turn most of their users into addicts and often kill them.” This means big profits for the tobacco companies but huge losses for their customers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some five million years of life are sliced off the lives of American smokers each year, roughly a minute for each minute spent smoking. “Smoking kills 420,000 Americans a year,” reports Newsweek magazine. “That’s 50 times as many as illegal drugs.”

Around the world, three million people a year​—six every minute—​die from smoking, according to the book Mortality From Smoking in Developed Countries 1950-2000, published by Britain’s Imperial Cancer Research Fund, WHO (World Health Organization), and the American Cancer Society. This analysis of world smoking trends, the most comprehensive to date, covers 45 countries. “In most countries,” warns Richard Peto of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, “the worst is yet to come. If current smoking patterns persist, then by the time the young smokers of today reach middle or old age, there will be about 10 million deaths a year from tobacco​—one death every three seconds.”

“Smoking is like no other hazard,” says Dr. Alan Lopez of WHO. “It will kill one in two smokers eventually.” Martin Vessey of the Department of Public Health at Oxford University says similarly: “These findings over 40 years lead to the horrible conclusion that one-​half of all smokers will eventually be killed by their habit​—a truly terrifying thought.” Since the 1950’s, 60 million people have died from smoking.

It is also a truly terrifying thought to the tobacco companies. If three million people each year around the world are now dying from smoking-​related causes, and many others quit smoking, then more than three million new users must be found annually.

One source has emerged because of what tobacco companies hail as the liberation of women. Smoking by women has been an accomplished fact for some years in Western lands and is now moving into places where it used to be viewed as a stigma. Tobacco companies intend to change all of that. They want to help women celebrate their newfound affluence and liberation. Special cigarette brands claiming lower tar and nicotine contents lure women who smoke and who find such smoke less harsh. Other cigarettes are perfumed or have a long, slender design​—the look that women may hope to achieve by smoking. Tobacco advertisements in Asia feature young, chic Asian models dressed seductively in Western elegance.

Smoking-​related death rates, however, are keeping pace with the “liberation” of women. The number of lung cancer victims among women has doubled in the last 20 years in Britain, Japan, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. In the United States and Canada, rates have increased 300 percent. “You’ve come a long way, baby!” proclaims one cigarette advertisement.

Some tobacco concerns have their own strategy. One Philippine company in that predominantly Catholic country distributed free calendars bearing a portrait of the Virgin Mary and their cigarette brand logos placed brazenly below the icon. “I had never seen anything like it before,” said Dr. Rosmarie Erben, Asian health adviser for WHO. “They were trying to link the icon motif to tobacco, to make Philippine women comfortable with the idea of smoking.”

In China an estimated 61 percent of the adult men smoke, whereas only 7 percent of the women do. Western tobacco companies have their eyes on the “liberation” of these lovely Oriental ladies, millions of whom were so long denied the “pleasures” of their glamorous Western sisters. One large fly in the ointment, though: The government-​owned tobacco company supplies most of the smokes.

Western companies, however, are gradually prying open the door. With limited advertising opportunities, some cigarette companies look to groom their future customers in a stealthy way. China imports movies from Hong Kong, and in many of them, the actors are paid to smoke​—a soft sell!

With hostility growing on the home front, the prosperous American tobacco companies are extending their tentacles to embrace new victims. The facts show that they have taken deadly aim at the developing nations.

Health officials worldwide sound the warning. The headlines declare: “Africa Battles a New Plague​—Cigarette Smoking.” “Smoke Turns to Fire in Asia as the Cigarette Market Soars.” “Asian Smoking Rates Will Lead to Cancer Epidemic.” “The New Third World Fight Is Over Tobacco.”

The continent of Africa has been battered by drought, civil war, and the AIDS epidemic. Yet, says Dr. Keith Ball, British cardiologist, “Short of nuclear war or famine, cigarette smoking is the greatest single threat to the future health of Africa.”

Multinational giants hire local farmers to grow tobacco. The farmers cut down trees sorely needed for cooking, heating, and housing and use them as fuel to cure tobacco. They grow lucrative tobacco crops instead of less profitable food crops. Impoverished Africans commonly spend a large proportion of their scanty income on cigarettes. So African families wither from malnutrition while the coffers of Western tobacco companies grow fat from the profits.

Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America are all targeted by Western tobacco companies, who see the developing world as one gigantic business opportunity. But teeming Asia is by far the biggest gold mine of them all. China alone presently has more smokers than the entire population of the United States​—300 million. They smoke a staggering 1.6 trillion cigarettes a year, one third of the total consumed in the world!

“Physicians say the health implications of the tobacco boom in Asia are nothing less than terrifying,” reports The New York Times. Richard Peto estimates that of the ten million anticipated smoking-​related deaths each year in the next two or three decades, two million will be in China alone. Fifty million Chinese children alive today may die from smoking-​related diseases, Peto says.

Dr. Nigel Gray summed it up this way: “The history of smoking over the past five decades in China and Eastern Europe condemns those countries to a major tobacco disease epidemic.”

“How can a product which is the cause of 400,000 premature deaths each year in the US, a product which the US Government is trying hard to help its citizens to quit, suddenly become different beyond American borders?” asked Dr. Prakit Vateesatokit of the Anti-​Smoking Campaign of Thailand. “Does health become irrelevant when the same product is exported to other countries?”

The developing tobacco interests have a powerful ally in the U.S. government. Together they have fought to gain footholds abroad, particularly in Asian markets. For years American cigarettes were locked out of Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and other countries, some of whose governments had their own monopolies on tobacco products. Antismoking groups protested imports, but the U.S. administration brandished a persuasive weapon​—punitive tariffs.

From 1985 on, under intense pressure from the U.S. government, many Asian countries have opened their gates, and American cigarettes have been flooding in. U.S. cigarette exports to Asia jumped by 75 percent in 1988.

Perhaps the most tragic victims of the tobacco wars are the children. A study reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association says that “children and teenagers constitute 90% of all new smokers.”

An article in U.S.News & World Report estimates the number of teen smokers in the United States at 3.1 million. Every day 3,000 new recruits start smoking​—1,000,000 a year.

One cigarette advertisement features a fun-​loving, pleasure-​seeking cartoon camel, often with a cigarette dangling from his lips. This cigarette advertisement is charged with luring youngsters into nicotine slavery before they comprehend the health risks. Within three years of running this advertisement, the cigarette company enjoyed a 64-​percent increase in sales to adolescents. A study at The Medical College of Georgia (U.S.A.) found that 91 percent of six-​year-​olds surveyed recognized this smoking cartoon character.

Another popular cigarette icon is the free-​wheeling macho cowboy whose message is, according to one teen, “When you’re smoking, you’re unstoppable.” It is said that the biggest-​selling consumer product in the world is a cigarette that corners 69 percent of the market among teen smokers and is the most advertised brand. As an added incentive, coupons come with each pack, to be redeemed for jeans, hats, and sportswear popular with youths.

Recognizing the tremendous power of advertising, antismoking groups have succeeded in having tobacco advertisements banned from television and radio in many countries. One way the savvy tobacco advertisers circumvent the system, however, is by strategically placing billboards at sports events. Therefore, a telecast game, with a vast young audience, may show their favorite player poised for action in the foreground and a towering cigarette billboard lurking in the background.

At downtown locations or in front of schools, cleverly costumed women in miniskirts or in cowboy or safari outfits hand out free cigarettes to eager or curious teens. At video arcades, discos, and rock concerts, samples are passed around freely. One company marketing plan leaked to the press showed that a particular brand in Canada targeted French-​speaking males from 12 to 17 years of age.

The glaring message is that smoking brings pleasure, fitness, virility, and popularity. “Where I worked,” said one advertising consultant, “we were trying very hard to influence kids who were 14 to start to smoke.” Advertisements in Asia depict healthy, young Western athletic types romping on beaches and ball fields​—while smoking, of course. “Western models and life-​styles create glamorous standards to emulate,” remarked a marketing trade journal, “and Asian smokers can’t get enough.”

After spending billions of advertising dollars, the tobacco marketers have scored huge successes. A Reader’s Digest special report showed that the rise in the number of young smokers is alarming. “In the Philippines,” says the report, “22.7 percent of people under 18 now smoke. In some Latin American cities, the teen-​age rate is an astonishing 50 percent. In Hong Kong, children as young as seven are smoking.”

However, even as tobacco celebrates its conquests abroad, cigarette companies are painfully aware of gathering storm clouds at home. What are tobacco’s chances of weathering the storm?

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Its best customers keep dying off

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Asia, tobacco’s newest killing fields

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90 percent of all new smokers​—children and teenagers!

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The Deadly Recipe​—What’s in a Smoke?

Up to 700 different chemical additives may be used by cigarette manufacturers, but the law allows the companies to keep their lists secret. On the lists, though, are heavy metals, pesticides, and insecticides. Some ingredients are so toxic that it is illegal to dump them in a landfill. That graceful swirl of cigarette smoke carries with it some 4,000 substances, including acetone, arsenic, butane, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. The lungs of smokers and of people nearby are exposed to at least 43 known cancer-​causing agents.

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Nonsmokers at Risk

Do you live, work, or travel with heavy smokers? If so, you may be at increased risk for lung cancer and heart disease. A 1993 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a Group A carcinogen, the most dangerous. The massive report analyzed the results of 30 studies implicating the spiraling smoke from the end of cigarettes as well as exhaled smoke.

The EPA blames passive smoke for 3,000 lung-​cancer deaths each year in the United States. The American Medical Association in June 1994 corroborated the conclusions with a study it published showing that women who never smoked but were exposed to ETS have a 30 percent greater risk of developing lung cancer than other lifetime nonsmokers.

For young children, exposure to smoke results in 150,000 to 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia annually. Smoke aggravates asthma symptoms for 200,000 to 1,000,000 children each year in the United States.

The American Heart Association estimates that as many as 40,000 deaths a year occur from heart and blood vessel diseases precipitated by ETS.

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A glamorous Asian model and the targets

Tobacco’s Defenders Launch Their Hot-​Air Balloons

IN THE 1940’s, London was a city under siege. German fighter planes and flying bombs rained down terror and destruction. But if the situation hadn’t been so dire, the inhabitants might have been amused by a bizarre sight.

Tethered by long cables, thousands of large balloons floated overhead. Their purpose was to discourage low-​level air raids and hopefully snag a few flying bombs in midair. The balloon barrage, ingenious as it was, met with minimal success.

Cigarette companies have likewise found themselves under siege. The sprawling tobacco empires, once impregnable bastions of political and economic might, are being attacked at every turn.

The medical community churns out page after page of incriminating studies. Crusading health officials maneuver for advantage. Outraged parents charge that their children are being victimized. Determined legislators have chased cigarette smoke out of office buildings, restaurants, military installations, and airplanes. In many countries, tobacco advertisements have been banned from television and radio. In the United States, entire states are suing for millions in health-​care costs. Even lawyers are joining the fight.

So in an attempt to fend off their attackers, the tobacco companies have launched some defensive balloons of their own. However, they appear to be filled with a lot of hot air.

The U.S. public has, this past year, had a front-​row seat as indignant legislators and government health officials mounted a vigorous offensive against the tobacco industry. In hearings before a U.S. congressional panel in April 1994, tobacco executives of seven large American companies were confronted with the incriminating statistics: more than 400,000 Americans dead each year and millions more sick, dying, and addicted.

What did they have to say for themselves? The embattled executives offered some interesting statements in their defense: “Smoking . . . has yet to be proven to have a causal role in the development of diseases,” asserted a Tobacco Institute spokesman. What is more, the smoking habit was portrayed as being as harmless as any other enjoyable activity, such as eating sweets or drinking coffee. “The presence of nicotine does not make cigarettes a drug, or smoking an addiction,” said one tobacco company chief executive officer. “The premise that nicotine in cigarettes is addictive at any level is incorrect,” asserted a tobacco company scientist.

If cigarettes are not addictive, countered the committee, why have tobacco companies tried to manipulate the nicotine levels in their products? “Taste,” explained another tobacco company executive. Is there nothing worse than a tasteless cigarette? When shown stacks of research from his own company’s files suggesting nicotine’s addictiveness, he clung to his story.

Apparently, he and others will cling to that opinion no matter how much the cemeteries fill up with tobacco victims. Early in 1993, Dr. Lonnie Bristow, chairman of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees issued an interesting challenge. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports: “He invited executives of the major US tobacco companies to walk with him through hospital wards to see one of the results of smoking​—lung cancer patients and other pulmonary cripples. There were no takers.”

The tobacco industry boasts that it provides good jobs in a world economy of burgeoning unemployment. In Argentina, for example, one million jobs are created by the industry, with four million more jobs indirectly related. Massive tax revenues have earned tobacco companies the good graces of many governments.

One tobacco concern has specifically favored minority groups with generous donations​—a seeming manifestation of civic-​mindedness. Internal company documents, however, revealed the true motive of this “constituency development budget”​—to create goodwill among potential voters.

This same tobacco company has also made friends among the arts with large contributions to museums, schools, dance academies, and music institutions. Officials of art organizations brace themselves to accept the badly needed tobacco money. Recently, members of the art community of New York City faced an awkward dilemma as this same tobacco company called on them to lend their voice to lobbying efforts against antismoking legislation.

And, of course, the wealthy tobacco giants are not timid about scattering money around to politicians, who can use their influence against any proposals unfriendly to tobacco interests. Government officials in high places have championed the cause of the tobacco companies. Some have financial ties to the industry or feel pressure to repay them for the generous campaign support from tobacco money.

One U.S. congressman reportedly received over $21,000 in donations from cigarette companies and subsequently cast his vote against a number of antitobacco issues.

A former well-​paid tobacco lobbyist, at one time a state senator and a heavy smoker, recently discovered that he has throat, lung, and liver cancer. Now he has keen regrets and laments that “lying there with something you caused yourself” makes a person feel like a fool.

With all the power that advertising dollars can buy, the tobacco giants are vigorously attacking the opposition. One advertisement waves the freedom flag, solemnly warning, “Today It’s Cigarettes. Tomorrow?” It implies that caffeine, alcohol, and hamburgers will be the next victims of supposedly fanatic prohibitionists.

Newspaper advertisements have sought to discredit a widely quoted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study that classified passive smoke as carcinogenic. The tobacco industry announced plans to do legal battle. A television program accused one company of toying with nicotine levels to encourage addiction. The network airing the show was promptly presented with a $10 billion lawsuit.

The tobacco companies have battled mightily, but the air is becoming still thicker with accusations. Some 50,000 studies have been conducted during the last four decades, resulting in an ever-​growing mountain of evidence on the hazards of tobacco use.

How have the cigarette companies attempted to dodge the charges thrown at them? They have stubbornly held to one supposed fact: Smokers do quit. Thus, they say, nicotine is not addictive. Statistics, however, show otherwise. True, 40 million Americans have quit. But 50 million more still smoke, and 70 percent of these say they want to quit. Of the 17 million who attempt to quit each year, 90 percent fail within a year.

After lung cancer surgery, nearly 50 percent of U.S. smokers return to the habit. Of smokers who have had heart attacks, 38 percent light up even before leaving the hospital. Forty percent of smokers who have a cancerous larynx removed will try to smoke again.

Of the millions of teenage smokers in the United States, three fourths say they have made at least one serious attempt to quit but have failed. Statistics also show that for many youths, smoking tobacco is a stepping-​stone to harder drugs. Adolescent smokers are more than 50 times as likely to use cocaine as are nonsmokers. A 13-​year-​old smoker agrees. “There’s no doubt in my mind that cigarettes are a gateway drug,” she wrote. “Almost everyone I know, except for three people, started smoking before doing drugs.”

What about low-​tar cigarettes? Studies show that they may, in fact, be more dangerous​—for two reasons: One, the smoker often inhales more deeply to extract the nicotine his system craves, exposing more lung tissue to the toxic effects of the smoke; two, the misconception that he is smoking a “healthier” cigarette may keep him from making the effort to quit altogether.

More than 2,000 studies have been done on nicotine alone. They reveal that nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man, and one of the most harmful. Nicotine accelerates the heart rate and constricts blood vessels. It is absorbed into the bloodstream in seven seconds​—even faster than an injection directly into a vein. It conditions the brain to want more, a craving that some say is twice as addictive as heroin.

Are the tobacco companies, despite their denials, aware of the addictive properties of nicotine? Indications are that they have known for a long time. For instance, a 1983 report shows that one tobacco company’s researcher noted that laboratory rats exhibited classic symptoms of addiction, regularly self-​administering doses of nicotine by hitting levers. Reportedly, the study was quickly suppressed by the industry and has come to light only recently.

The tobacco giants have not sat idly by while cannons fire salvos from all directions. The Council for Tobacco Research in New York City conducts what The Wall Street Journal calls “the longest-​running misinformation campaign in U.S. business history.”

Under the banner of conducting independent research, the council has invested millions of dollars in combating assailants. It all started in 1953 when Dr. Ernst Wynder of the Memorial Sloan-​Kettering Cancer Center found that tobacco tars painted on the backs of mice caused tumors. The industry established the council to neutralize the clear evidence gathering against their product, by countering with scientific evidence of their own.

How could council scientists, though, produce results so contrary to the findings of the rest of the research community? Recently released documents reveal an elaborate web of intrigue. Many council researchers, shackled by written contracts and controlled by squads of sharp-​eyed lawyers, found that the growing health fears were well-​founded. But when faced with the facts, the council, according to The Wall Street Journal, “sometimes disregarded, or even cut off, studies of its own that implicated smoking as a health hazard.”

Behind the walls of secrecy, the search for a safer cigarette continued for years. To do so publicly would have been a tacit admission that smoking was indeed hazardous to health. By the end of the 1970’s, a senior lawyer for a tobacco company recommended that efforts to produce a “safe” cigarette be abandoned as futile and that all related documents be stowed away.

Two things became clear from the years of experimenting: Nicotine is indeed addictive, and cigarette smoking does kill. Though vehemently denying these facts publicly, tobacco companies show by their actions that they know the facts all too well.

Charging deliberate manipulation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner David Kessler said: “Some of today’s cigarettes may, in fact, qualify as high-​technology nicotine delivery systems that deliver nicotine in precisely calculated quantities . . . sufficient to create and to sustain addiction.”

Kessler revealed that tobacco companies own a number of patents proving their intent. One is for a genetically altered strain of tobacco with the highest nicotine yield known. Another process treats filters and papers with nicotine for an additional boost. Yet another administers more nicotine in the smoker’s first puffs than in the last. Additionally, industry documents show that ammonia compounds are added to cigarettes to free more nicotine from the tobacco. “Nearly twice the usual amount inhaled got into a smoker’s bloodstream,” says a New York Times report. The FDA has proclaimed that nicotine is an addictive drug and aims to regulate cigarettes more tightly.

Governments are dependent in their own way on cigarettes. The U.S. government, for instance, collects $12 billion a year in state and federal taxes on tobacco products. The federal Office of Technology Assessment, however, calculates a $68 billion a year price tag for smoking, based on health-​care costs and lost productivity.

Claims of economic rewards and plentiful jobs, benevolent support of the arts, fierce denials of health risks​—indeed, the tobacco industry has sent up some peculiar-​looking balloons in self-​defense. Whether they prove to be more effective than the balloon barrage over London or not remains to be seen.

But it is evident that the giant companies can no longer hide their true nature. They have made millions, and they have killed millions, but they seem unaffected that the bottom line is a terrible toll in human lives.

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They appear to be filled with a lot of hot air

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A government study implicates passive smoke as carcinogenic

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Nicotine is one of the most addicting substances known

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They have made millions; they have killed millions

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50,000 Studies​—What Have They Found?

Here is a small sampling of the health concerns raised by researchers in connection with tobacco use:

LUNG CANCER: Smokers make up 87 percent of lung-​cancer deaths.

HEART DISEASE: Smokers have a 70 percent greater risk of cardiovascular disease.

BREAST CANCER: Women who smoke 40 or more cigarettes daily have a 74 percent greater chance of dying from breast cancer.

HEARING IMPAIRMENT: Infants of smoking mothers have greater difficulty processing sound.

DIABETIC HAZARDS: Diabetics who smoke or chew tobacco are at higher risk for kidney damage and have more rapidly progressing retinopathy (a disorder of the retina).

COLON CANCER: Two studies involving more than 150,000 people show a clear link between smoking and colon cancer.

ASTHMA: Secondhand smoke can worsen asthma in youngsters.

PREDISPOSITION TO SMOKE: Daughters of women who smoked during pregnancy are four times more likely to smoke.

LEUKEMIA: Smoking appears to cause myeloid leukemia.

EXERCISE INJURIES: According to a U.S. Army study, smokers are more likely to suffer injuries while exercising.

MEMORY: High doses of nicotine may take a toll on mental dexterity while a person is performing complex tasks.

DEPRESSION: Psychiatrists are investigating evidence of a link between smoking and major depression as well as schizophrenia.

SUICIDE: A study of nurses showed that suicide was twice as likely among nurses who smoked.

Other dangers to add to the list: Cancer of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, bladder, kidney, and cervix; stroke, heart attack, chronic lung disease, circulatory disease, peptic ulcers, diabetes, infertility, low birth weight, osteoporosis, and ear infections. Fire hazards may be added as well, as smoking is the chief cause of home, hotel, and hospital fires.

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Smokeless Tobacco–A Dangerous Substitute

The leader in the $1.1 billion snuff industry cagily reels in its small fry with flavored bait. It has flavored brands that are popular. The “little tobacco buzz” they deliver satisfies but not for long. A former vice chairman of this tobacco company said: “A lot of people may start on the more flavored products, but ultimately, they’ll come to [the strongest brand].” It is advertised as, “A Strong Chew for Strong Men” and, “It Satisfies.”

The Wall Street Journal, which reported on this strategy of the company, quoted its denial that “it doctors levels of nicotine.” The Journal also stated that two former tobacco chemists of the company, speaking on the topic for the first time, said that “while the company doesn’t manipulate nicotine levels, it does manipulate the amount of nicotine that users absorb.” They also say that the company adds chemicals to boost the alkalinity of its snuff. The more alkaline the snuff is, “the more nicotine is released.” The Journal adds this clarification concerning snuff and chewing tobacco: “Snuff, which sometimes is confused with chewing tobacco, is shredded tobacco that users suck on, but don’t chew. Users take a pinch, or ‘dip,’ and place it between the cheek and gum, shifting it about with their tongues and spitting occasionally.”

Flavored brands made for beginners free only from 7 to 22 percent of their nicotine for absorption into the bloodstream. The strongest brand can make new users gag. It is in a finely chopped form for “real” men. Seventy-​nine percent of its nicotine is “free,” available for immediate absorption into the bloodstream. In the United States, users begin dipping on the average at the age of nine. And what nine-​year-​old will long resist moving up to stronger brands and joining the “real” men?

The resulting dose of nicotine is actually more powerful than that from a cigarette. Users are reportedly 4 times more likely to develop mouth cancer, and their risk of developing throat cancer is 50 times greater than for nonusers.

Public outcry in the United States temporarily flared up when a lawsuit was brought against a tobacco company by the mother of a former high school track star who died from mouth cancer. He got a free can of snuff at a rodeo at age 12 and became a four-​can-a-week user. After he underwent a number of painful surgeries that carved up his tongue, jaw, and neck, his doctors gave up. The young man died at 19 years of age.

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How to Become a Quitter

Millions of people have successfully broken their nicotine addiction. If you are a smoker, even a longtime one, you too can shed this harmful habit. A few tips that may help:

• Know beforehand what to expect. The withdrawal symptoms may include anxiety, irritability, dizziness, headaches, sleeplessness, stomach upsets, hunger, cravings, poor concentration, and tremors. Not a pleasant prospect, to be sure, but the most intense symptoms last only a few days and gradually fade as the body becomes free of nicotine.

• Now the mental battle begins in earnest. Not only did your body crave nicotine but your mind was conditioned by behaviors associated with smoking. Analyze your routine to see when you automatically reached for a cigarette, and alter that pattern. For example, if you always smoked right after a meal, determine to get up right away and take a walk or wash the dishes.

• When an intense craving strikes, perhaps because of a stressful moment, remember that the impulse will usually pass within five minutes. Be prepared to occupy your mind by writing a letter, exercising, or eating a healthy snack. Prayer is a powerful help toward self-​control.

• If you are discouraged from failed attempts to quit, take heart. The important thing is to keep trying.

• If the prospect of gaining weight hinders you, keep in mind that the benefits of giving up cigarettes far outweigh the dangers of a few extra pounds. It may help to have fruit or vegetables handy. And drink plenty of water.

• To quit smoking is one thing. To stay off tobacco is quite another. Set time goals for being smoke free​—one day, one week, three months, forever.

Jesus said: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) To love your neighbor, stop smoking. To love yourself, stop smoking.​—See also “Smoking—​The Christian View,” in Awake!, July 8, 1989, pages 13-15.

Aquaculture​—Fish as “Livestock”

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN NORWAY

THOUSANDS of years ago, the Chinese and the Egyptians made freshwater ponds where they kept and perhaps also fed live fish. Nowadays the tending of fish has become an industry. It is called aquaculture. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines it as “the cultivation of the natural produce of water.” This involves the creating of proper growth conditions and the stocking and farming of aquatic animals and plants in salt water or fresh water.

So far, intensive farming and stocking of fish are the more common forms of aquaculture. In many countries, especially where freshwater temperatures are relatively high, farming of freshwater fish in vats and ponds is widespread. Other nations have concentrated more on utilizing their marine areas. Norway is an example of the latter. With one of the longest coastlines in the world, appropriate sea temperatures, and comparatively pure water, this country has a natural advantage in fish farming in seawater. Norway has been a pioneer country, especially in farming Atlantic salmon and trout in the sea.

From Roe to Fish for the Market

Production starts at the hatchery in the autumn. Females are “stroked” for their roe, and the roe is fertilized with sperm from selected males. The fertilized roe spends the winter under careful supervision in the hatchery, and hatching takes place in six months. For the first few weeks, the fry is nourished from the yolk sac on its stomach; then the first careful feeding begins. In the wild state, a salmon fry spends from two to five years in the river where it was hatched, before migrating to the more nutritious sea to graze. In a hatchery the fry develops into a smolt (a salmonid fish ready for migration) in one and a half years.

The fish are then moved from fresh water to salt water. Usually they are placed in installations, floating pens or cages, in the sea. After a year or two in the sea farm, the salmon have reached proper size and are taken up for processing. It all sounds so simple, so easy. However, having fish as “livestock” presents a number of challenges.a

Biological Puzzles and Variables

Early fish farmers started from scratch and had to gain a thorough knowledge of the propagation, food preferences, and instincts of the different species. There seemed to be an infinite number of unsolved biological puzzles and things that could go wrong. Would it ever be possible to satisfy the constantly varying requirements of fry and fish regarding water quality, temperature, food, and light?

Many of these problems have long been solved. A number of today’s research programs focus on how growth and behavior of the different species might be controlled by such factors as exercise, manipulation of light, and proper quantity and quality of food.

Pollution and Algae Invasions

A clean environment is important in fish farming. Unbalanced ecosystems and pollution levels create problems in the aquaculture industry. Wild fish that detect toxicants in the water try to avoid the danger. Fish reared in sea farms cannot, being confined in pens. Oil spills or discharges of toxic chemicals are thus potentially disastrous for fish farms.

Some got quite a shock in 1988 when there was a staggering bloom of toxic algae along the southwestern coast of Sweden and off the shores of southern Norway. In vast areas algae killed fish and other life in the sea. Several fish farms were emptied, partly because of the algae itself and partly because of emergency butchering. But most installations were saved from the algal death as the fish farmers towed the pens into the safety of the fjords. Some called this algal disaster “the maritime Chernobyl,” and experts claimed that increasing pollution was probably a contributing factor in causing the bloom.

Fish pens in the sea are exposed to all kinds of weather and must withstand ice, rough seas, and storms. When an installation is wrecked and the fish escape, the fish farmer loses valuable property. Moreover, escaped fish might spread diseases to wild fish, and this has been a serious problem. Escaped fish will also compete with wild fish for food and spawning grounds, and there is a fear that this might have a negative influence on local stocks.

So there is complete agreement that sea installations must be better secured to prevent escapes. Advances have been made in this area too. Aquaculture in Norway says that in recent years “a great deal [has been achieved] when it comes to making aquaculture installations able to withstand extreme weather.”

Management of Diseases

Everything that conflicts with the nature of the fish or deviates from their normal environment causes stress, and this harms their immune system. A combination of factors, such as high concentrations of fish, intensive feeding, accumulation of organic matter, and increased amounts of various fish pathogens, has generated far more serious disease problems among cultivated fish than among wild fish. This has caused great losses to the industry.

Indeed, many of these fish diseases might be treated with, for example, antibiotics, but prolonged use of antibiotics is a threat to the environment, primarily because it produces resistant bacteria, requiring the development of new medicines. Drugs may also weaken the fish, making them more vulnerable to other diseases. The fish farmers have, of course, wanted to escape from this vicious circle.b

The old saying that prevention is better than cure therefore applies also to fish farming. Great effort has been expended to gain more knowledge on how to strengthen the natural defenses of the fish. This research is directed toward such areas as the optimization of feeding, the rearing environment and working routines, the breeding of particularly disease-​resistant fish, and the development of effective vaccines and vaccination methods. This work has brought results, and it seems that the fish-​farming industry has got the upper hand in the fight against disease.

A Growth Industry

Aquaculture is a typical regional industry of great importance to a number of coastal settlements. Since the aquaculture industry was established, amazing growth has taken place. In 1990, worldwide production had a total value of more than $23 billion. Norway supplies more than half of the world’s farmed Atlantic salmon, exporting salmon to over 90 countries around the globe.

Although Atlantic salmon has been the main product from sea farming so far, already there are limited quantities of farmed cod and halibut on the market. The aquaculture industry wishes to become a reliable supplier of fresh, quality fish year-​round.

Sadly, humans often allow themselves to be impelled by greed, and this has sometimes occurred in the aquaculture industry. In some cases environmental considerations have given way to the desire to make a quick profit. Aquaculturists with such thinking need to learn how quickly nature can strike back; they should recognize that caring for the environment is in their own interest. Sooner or later, it always proves to be wise to administer the earth’s resources in agreement with the Creator’s original purpose​—in harmony with nature and its complex ecosystems.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 15]

Fish are placed in floating pens in the sea

Females are stroked for their roe

When the fish reach the proper size, they are taken up and processed

[Credit Line]

Photos: Vidar Vassvik/​Norwegian Seafood Export Council

The Termite​—Friend or Foe?

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN KENYA

“KUMBE! Mchwa!” Thus exclaimed a Christian minister as he and a group of others lifted a portable wooden pool. They hoped to use it as a baptismal pool at a circuit assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kenya. To their dismay, however, they discovered that much of the wood had been eaten away. Hence his expression of frustration. Translated, it means: “Oh! Termites!”

Perhaps no other insect is so often associated with property damage as the tiny termite. But is this bug truly an enemy of man? In answer, let us take a close look at the termite.

The Termite Fortress

In Kenya, one often sees towering termite homes. These are chimneylike structures that protrude as high as from 15 to 20 feet [5-6 m] above ground. The mounds, resembling a concrete citadel, are built with such precision that termites have been called master architects. Does it not defy the imagination to think that tiny insects could erect such impressive fortresses, even though they are quite slow on their feet​—and blind?

Inside the mound is an elaborate maze of chambers and tunnels. This bustling metropolis also boasts an efficient drainage system, ventilation, and even air-​conditioning. Hot air escapes through the top of the mound by means of portholes. Cool air comes through the bottom. Further cooling is done by a simple evaporation system: The termites spray their walls with water by spitting on them. As the water evaporates, it cools the air and assists with circulation. The termite home thus stays at a pleasant 86 degrees Fahrenheit [30° C.] 24 hours a day!

Termite Society

Even more amazing is termite society. Some termite mounds house efficient communities, or colonies, numbering up to five million residents. Far from being chaotic, a colony is a study in efficiency. The termite family is made up of three castes, namely, workers, soldiers, and reproductives. Workers do the actual construction of the mounds, using their saliva for cement.

Soldiers are the more aggressive members of the family. Armed with strong jaws and sharp teeth, they guard the fortress from invaders, such as army ants. They also act as bodyguards to protect the workers when they venture outside the mound in search of food. If needed, the soldiers resort to chemical warfare; a special gland acts like a squirt gun, releasing a lethal fluid.

How are the soldiers repaid for their services? Well, it seems their jaws are so large that they cannot chew food to feed themselves. So when a soldier is hungry, it simply rubs the head of a worker with its antennae. That means, “Feed me!” The worker responds by placing regurgitated food into the soldier’s mouth.

In the royal chamber, cloaked in total darkness, live the reproductives​—the king and queen. The queen is a giant compared with her diminutive mate. Her abdomen, swollen with eggs, is evidence of her prodigious reproductive powers. It is estimated that she can lay from 4,000 to 10,000 eggs a day. No wonder some have called the queen “an automatic egg-​laying machine.”

Not much privacy for the royal couple, though, as they are attended to by a team of termite workers. These surround the queen, seeing to her immediate needs and providing her with food. As the eggs are produced, the workers carry them off between their jaws to the nursery chamber.

Friends or Foes?

While few people would deny that these insects are fascinating, most still view them as pests​—enemies! Dr. Richard Bagine, head of the Invertebrate Zoology Department of the National Museum of Kenya, told Awake!: “It is true that termites are seen by people as one of the most destructive insects. But scientists see termites differently. In the wild, termites are useful members of the plant and animal community.

“First, they break down dead plant material into simple compounds. In this way, termites recycle nutrients that plants need. Second, they are an important food source. They are eaten by almost every kind of bird and by many mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and other insects. Many people in western and northern Kenya also enjoy their sweet, rich taste; they are very rich in fats and proteins. Third, they help to make soil. Termites mix subsoil and topsoil when they build and repair their nests. They break down large pieces of dead plant material into smaller pieces, forming humus. Moving through the soil, they make passages for air and water needed by plant roots. Thus termites improve soil texture, structure, and fertility.”

Why, though, do termites invade human habitations? Says Dr. Bagine: “Actually, people have moved into the termites’ habitats and removed most of the plant resources used by termites. Termites must eat to live, and they will usually feed on dead plants. When these are taken away from them, termites feed on man-​made structures, such as houses and granaries.”

So although the termite may at times seem to be a pest, it surely is not our enemy. Indeed, it is a striking example of Jehovah’s creative brilliance. (Psalm 148:10, 13; Romans 1:20) And in God’s coming new world, as man learns to live in harmony with the animal world, he will no doubt come to see the tiny termite as a friend, not a foe.​—Isaiah 65:25.

[Pictures on page 17]

A typical castlelike termite mound

Inset: Worker termites

[Picture on page 18]

The soldier termite, with its large head and glands that produce deadly chemicals, is equipped to defend the termite colony

[Picture on page 18]

The queen, her abdomen swollen with eggs

[Picture on page 18]

The queen with her crew of attendants

My Successful Search for the Meaning of Life

IT WAS the year 1951. Crowds of people lined the streets to get a glimpse of many prominent stars of stage and screen as one limousine after another made its way to the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, California. The occasion was the premier showing of A Place in the Sun, based on my cousin Theodore Dreiser’s famous novel An American Tragedy. It was Paramount Pictures’ Academy Award contender for the year and was directed by George Stevens, one of their top directors. It featured three of the outstanding stars of the day, Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Shelley Winters. Why was I there in one of those big limousines, passing through crowds of screaming people? And why did I feel so out of place in that environment? Let’s go back to the beginning to see how this all came about.

I was born in one of the most significant periods in all history​—October 1914. On the 20th day of that month at about half past four in the afternoon, in our home in Seattle, Washington, I was delivered by the doctor.

In those days our family lived on Alki Beach in a section called Bonair. Soon our family grew to five, consisting of my parents, my older brother and a younger one, and me. We lived in a large, beautiful home facing the beach, which provided a most picturesque setting where one could watch the ships and ferries plying the waters of Puget Sound between downtown Seattle and other cities across the way.

Following the stock-​market crash in 1929, the economic situation became so bad that we traded our home on Alki Beach for a food store in the Highland Park section of Seattle, which provided us a small income during the Depression years.

In 1938 my mother died, leaving my father all alone to run the store. I joined him in the business, and we turned it into a modern food market. Soon we had a thriving business.

Then came the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and shortly afterward I found myself facing the draft and World War II. We had to sell the business, which provided my father with a little money to live on, and I volunteered for the army just a few days before I would have been drafted. Going into the army disturbed my conscience, to say the least, and I remember how I prayed to God that I would not have to kill anyone. After basic training, I was assigned to the Transportation Corps. Eventually I was commissioned second lieutenant.

My Association With Theodore Dreiser

By now it was 1945, and I was assigned to the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation, where I served as a cargo security officer on ships that were chartered by the army to transport supplies and a few troops to locations in the Pacific. Between assignments I would sometimes visit my cousin Theodore Dreiser and his wife, Helen. They had a spacious home in West Hollywood and were most hospitable to me on such occasions. Dreiser had a very searching mind and liked to sound me out as to what I thought of the places I visited.

Of course, Dreiser knew that I was also a cousin of Congressman Martin Dies of Texas, chairman of the Dies Committee, the forerunner of the Un-​American Activities Committee. Many of the writers and other professionals in the movie industry were being raked over the coals for Communist leanings, and Dreiser was not spared, since he was known to be sympathetic to the Russians. So during one of my first visits, he asked me: “Do you go along with that cousin of yours, Martin Dies?” I assured him that I had no connection with Martin or any of his political aims, which made my relationship with Dreiser more amicable.

After Japan surrendered, on September 2, 1945, I decided to remain in the army a while, as I was getting to see many interesting parts of the world. Soon I was promoted to first lieutenant and assigned as officer in charge of the commissary aboard one of the large troop ships. While in Japan, I took some leave and traveled through Japan from Yokohama to Hiroshima, where the atom bomb had destroyed the city.

The morning I arrived in Hiroshima, I saw people still sleeping in the park for lack of housing. Needless to say, I felt most uncomfortable walking around there, since it was evident that just about anyone I met had lost relatives and friends in that terrible holocaust. The agony I saw in their faces, as well as the real or imagined hatred in their eyes toward those of us in uniform, was something sickening to the heart.

I Begin My Search for Meaning

Because of Hiroshima and the many cases of disease and poverty that I saw, I began reasoning on the meaning of life. Being aboard ships at sea provided a lot of time to think about such things. On occasion, I would talk to the chaplain on board to see if he could answer some of my questions concerning the injustices of life. None of those chaplains had any satisfying answers.

Theodore Dreiser died in December 1945, after spending a lifetime searching for the meaning of life. In his essay entitled “My Creator,” he finally admitted that he was no closer to the solution then than at the beginning. Helen Dreiser, his widow, also a cousin of mine, was working on her autobiography, to be entitled My Life With Dreiser. She had been urging me to come to Hollywood to assist her with the editing of her manuscript and to handle some of the business affairs with various agents respecting the publication of Theodore’s works, which were being produced in many countries. So in December 1947, I left the army and began living on the Dreiser estate in West Hollywood.

But I didn’t give up in my quest for the meaning of life. Helen Dreiser was also seeking a spiritual understanding of life, and hence we began visiting various groups, searching for something that made sense. None of the groups had any satisfying answers.

Later, while we were in Gresham, Oregon, visiting Helen’s mother, I was introduced to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses who played the electric organ in some of the big hotels in Portland. We got into a discussion of religion, and many of the things he said seemed to make sense. When he suggested that one of their ministers call when we got back to Los Angeles, I readily agreed.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, we were promptly visited by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He arranged for us to have a weekly Bible study with another Witness and his wife, both of whom were pioneers (full-​time ministers). The study got off to a rather rocky start because of some of my preconceived ideas, but these were soon dislodged by logically reasoning on the Bible.

It was now early 1950, and there was a lot of interest in Dreiser’s works at that time. Paramount Pictures was in the process of producing motion picture versions of two of Dreiser’s most celebrated novels: An American Tragedy, to be called A Place in the Sun, for release in 1951, and Sister Carrie, for subsequent release under the title Carrie in the film version. These motion pictures were Paramount’s Academy Award contenders two years in a row. So it was an important year for Helen, and having completed her manuscript entitled My Life With Dreiser, she left for New York City, where she was to meet with the officials of the World Publishing Company, which was to publish her manuscript.

I Was Convinced I Had Found the Meaning of Life

While she was away, I continued my study of the Bible, in time learning what it was like to go from door-​to-​door talking about the Bible. By the time Helen Dreiser returned from New York, I was sure that I had at last found the meaning of life, for which I had been searching. But what a surprise when Helen announced that she wanted nothing more to do with the Bible study! Evidently her associations in New York convinced her that what she was learning from the Bible was not popular with the world. She put it plainly: “It rules out everything else.” So she refused to study the Bible with us any longer.

By now it was clear that it would be out of harmony with the truth for me to remain in the army reserve. I was determined to be baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A special baptism was arranged for me at the home of a Witness who had a swimming pool. Having made my dedication to Jehovah, I was baptized on August 19, 1950. I then wrote the army advising them that since I was an ordained minister, I was no longer able to serve in the army reserve. While my resignation was at first refused, a few months later, I was granted an honorable discharge.

In the meantime, Paramount Pictures was about to release A Place in the Sun, and Helen and I were invited to a private dinner hosted by George Stevens, the director. We were advised that the world premier would be held at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, and arrangements were being made that upon our arrival at the theater, Helen, as wife of the author, would speak over a national radio hookup. This was to be my cousin’s big night, and I was expected to accompany her. So at the appointed hour, we hired a limousine, and in all our finery, we headed for the theater. We slowly made our way through crowds of people, who lined the street hoping to see some of the famous movie stars expected to arrive for the showing.

How did I feel about my part in that ostentatious display? In times past, I had seen events of that kind in the movies and had wondered what it would be like to be in that kind of limelight. But now, having gained a knowledge of the truth, I felt out of place. Perhaps I sensed Jehovah’s disapproval of such things in view of what the Bible says 1 John 2:16: “The showy display of one’s means of life . . . does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world.” It was easy to see that such glitter and glamour were out of harmony with my new Christian way of life. While I enjoyed the excellent motion picture, I felt relieved when it was all over.

Shortly afterward, Helen Dreiser suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed. A second one made it impossible for her to cope with business affairs any longer. Her sister Myrtle Butcher applied for permission to be her guardian and wanted to take her to her own home in Gresham, Oregon. I did not contest the application, since I felt it would be best for Helen, who would be in need of much care, which her sister could provide. So now I was out of a job. What was I going to do? I had confidence in Jesus’ promise at Matthew 6:33: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.”

Since I now had only myself to look after, my father having died a few months earlier, I wanted to serve Jehovah full-​time. Almost at once, I was rewarded with an offer of part-​time work, which gave me just what I needed to start serving Jehovah as a full-​time preacher of the good news of God’s Kingdom. As Jesus said would be the case, Jehovah has taken care of me all these more than 42 years that I have been in his full-​time service.

In the summer of 1953, I attended my first international convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, at Yankee Stadium in New York City, and what a thrilling experience that turned out to be! I had by then nearly completed my first year as a pioneer, and while I was very happy in that evangelizing work, I had the desire to reach out for an even greater share in Kingdom service. Earlier I had put in an application for full-​time service at the Society’s headquarters, and now at this convention I also put in an application for missionary training at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. Shortly after returning to Los Angeles, how surprised I was to receive an invitation to serve at the Society’s headquarters, called Bethel!

With mixed emotions I entered Bethel on October 20, 1953, wondering what it would be like and whether I would be as happy there as I had been as a pioneer. But throughout the past 41 years of my Bethel service, I have never once regretted making that decision. The many privileges that I have enjoyed while here at Bethel have brought me far greater joy and happiness than I could ever have experienced in any other form of Kingdom service.

In 1955, Helen Dreiser died, and I was appointed as an executor and eventual trustee of her estate. In making out his will, Theodore Dreiser had left everything to his wife, and the handling of her estate involved the rights to all his copyrighted works. Helen had told me that Dreiser was a regular reader of the Bible, and in going through his library, I noted that he would sometimes make notes in the margin of his Bible about an alternate rendering in one of the other Bible translations.

Dreiser and Jehovah’s Witnesses

Of course, I knew nothing about Jehovah’s Witnesses when I had discussions with Dreiser, but I found out later that he was aware of the neutral stand of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In his book entitled America Is Worth Saving, he praised them for their stand on the flag-​salute issue. Dreiser was not afraid to take a firm stand on something he believed in, and if I had known the Bible as I do now, most likely we would have had some very interesting discussions.

Looking back over the 45 years since I began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I can honestly say that I have indeed found the meaning of life that I had been searching for. My questions concerning the injustices of life were well answered by learning that the god and ruler of this world is Satan the Devil, rather than the loving, almighty God, Jehovah. (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 4:8) And what a cause for rejoicing to learn that God’s Kingdom was established in the heavens in October 1914 and to know that it will soon take over the rule of the earth and break up the works of the Devil!​—1 John 3:8; Revelation 20:10.

In the meantime, to know the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, to have a personal relationship with him, and to have a meaningful life in his Kingdom service might well be likened to the pearl that a merchant found in his travels. That pearl was of such high value that he promptly sold everything he had just to possess it.​—Matthew 13:45, 46.

Having found such a treasure, I appreciate the words of the psalmist David: “That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of Jehovah and to look with appreciation upon his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)​—As told by Harold Dies.

[Picture on page 20]

Going into the army disturbed my conscience, to say the least

[Picture on page 23]

Serving at Bethel since 1953

Young People Ask . . .

What If My Parent Falls Short?

“My father has been a Christian for ten years. Now he is inactive. He doesn’t study the Bible, and he doesn’t attend the meetings regularly. He is constantly criticizing his Christian brothers in the congregation. He has worldly views on race and many, many other subjects. I think of him as having many shortcomings.” ​—A teenage girl.

NO PARENT is perfect. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says the Bible. (Romans 3:23) But it is another thing entirely when one’s mother or father plays the role of a model Christian in public and goes through an ugly transformation in private. “Around others, my father is nice,” says one young girl. “But he’s a different person behind closed doors​—he’s mean! He’s critical of everything I do, and he makes everyone in my family feel bad. I’m at the point where I can’t find any joy in life. All I feel for him is hatred.”

Anger and resentment may be particularly intense among youths who are secretly suffering forms of abuse. A woman named Mary thus writes of the “violence, profanity, and abuse of all kinds” that she suffered at the hands of her father​—a closet alcoholic. “People would come up to us children and tell us what a wonderful father we had and how fortunate we were,” she bitterly recalls.

The Bible condemns all forms of hypocrisy. (James 3:17) It warns us that even among true worshipers of God, there would be some who “hide what they are.” (Psalm 26:4; compare Jude 4.) Knowing this may not make things any easier, though, when the one practicing hypocrisy is your own parent​—someone you are supposed to love and respect. Some youths are overwhelmed by the conflicting emotions that arise. “I need help,” laments one young girl. “The Bible says to ‘honor thy father,’ but I can’t.”

What Honoring Them Really Means

It is true that the Bible’s command to honor one’s parents contains no ‘escape clause’ for youths who feel their parents are undeserving. (Ephesians 6:1, 2) However, honoring a parent does not necessarily mean that you approve of his life-​style or that you are happy with the way he treats you.a In the Bible, “honor” can simply mean recognizing duly constituted authority.

For instance, the apostle Peter wrote that Christians should “have honor for the king.” (1 Peter 2:17) Peter knew firsthand that kings were often unsavory characters. King Herod Agrippa I, for example, was an extravagant and reckless man. After being appointed king of Palestine by Rome, he launched a persecution against Christians. He “did away with James the brother of John by the sword. As he saw it was pleasing to the Jews, he went on to arrest Peter also.” (Acts 12:1-3) Yet, Peter did not encourage rebellion. Rather, he promoted obedience to kings. And with good reason. Obedience to secular rulers is Jehovah’s will. And in Peter’s day some kings had absolute power and authority. Solomon said: “All that he delights to do he will do, because the word of the king is the power of control; and who may say to him: ‘What are you doing?’”​—Ecclesiastes 8:3, 4.

In a similar way, your parent​—whatever his shortcomings—​is still in charge and has considerable power over your life. It simply isn’t a wise move, then, to rebel or to treat him with disdain. Not only might doing so make life more difficult for you but it also could cause you to lose favor with God. (Compare Proverbs 30:17; Ecclesiastes 10:4.) On the other hand, cooperating as best you can may help you to maintain at least some semblance of peace and calm in your relationship with your parent.​—Colossians 3:20.

Dealing With Anger and Resentment

How, though, can you deal respectfully with someone who has hurt and disappointed you? This is not easy. But constantly dwelling on his errors and shortcomings will only nurture your resentment. Could it be that you need to think more positively of your parent, giving him due credit for any good qualities he may possess?

Note what Proverbs 19:11 says: “The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger.” Trying to understand your parent may give you a fresh perspective on things. Is he truly behaving wickedly? Or could it simply be that he is weak, discouraged, and in need of help? Could his behavior be a result of illness, depression, loneliness, or job stress? If so, understanding these problems may help you feel more compassion toward your parent and perhaps less anger.

Whatever the case, it helps to talk about your feelings with someone. (Proverbs 12:25) “My Dad used to drink,” recalls one girl. “I couldn’t tell my parents how I felt, so I kept it all inside of me.” You do not have to suffer alone, however. While not replacing parents, mature ones in the Christian congregation can do much to offset any lack of care at home. (Compare Mark 10:30.) Proverbs 17:17 says: “Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share trouble?”​—Today’s English Version.

‘I Can Change Him’

Some youths suffer emotionally because of a misguided sense of responsibility. Recalls Mary of herself and her siblings: “We lived in terror that someone would find out about my father’s drinking problem.” Others exhaust themselves by making futile attempts to change their delinquent parent.

As much as you may love and care for your parent, you are simply not to blame for his shortcomings. He ‘carries his own load’ of responsibility before God. (Compare Galatians 6:5; James 5:14.) It is not your responsibility to monitor or control your parent’s conduct. Constantly nagging or berating your parent will only upset him.

This does not mean there is nothing you can do. At the very least, you can “pray incessantly” that your parent undergo a change of heart. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Regularly expressing your love for him and offering sincere commendation, where appropriate, may also help soften his attitude. Beyond this, you may have little choice but to endure the situation as best you can.b

Of course, if you and your parent are Christians and he is engaging in serious wrongdoing, such as alcohol abuse or fits of anger, you will naturally feel obliged to make sure matters are discussed with the congregation elders. (James 5:14) This would not be an act of disloyalty but would be a loving attempt to see that your parent gets the help he so sorely needs. Granted, some parents have angrily denied any wrongdoing and meted out retribution secretly, but youths who “suffer for the sake of righteousness” in this regard can be assured that Jehovah approves of their courageous course and that in his due time, he will bring the truth to light.​—1 Peter 3:14; 1 Timothy 5:24, 25.

Working Out Your Own Salvation

Solomon said: “Mere oppression may make a wise one act crazy.” (Ecclesiastes 7:7) Sad to say, some youths have become embittered by their parent’s poor example and have themselves begun misbehaving. Some have even become enraged against God and have left the Christian way! (Proverbs 19:3) The Bible warns: “Take care that rage does not allure you into spiteful [actions]. Be on your guard that you do not turn to what is hurtful.”​—Job 36:18-21.

Rather than worrying excessively about your parent’s standing with God, you need to “keep working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12) In ancient times, a young prince named Hezekiah did so under similar circumstances. His father, King Ahaz, claimed to be a worshiper of Jehovah. (Isaiah 7:10-12) He was really a worshiper of pagan deities, even offering up one of his own sons as a human sacrifice! (2 Kings 16:1-4) Imagine how distressing this prevailing apostasy must have been to young Hezekiah! Psalm 119:28, which some believe was penned by this young prince, says: “My soul has been sleepless from grief. Raise me up according to your word.”

Jehovah did just that! As Hezekiah applied himself to prayer and the study of God’s Word, his own spirituality grew despite his surroundings. (Psalm 119:97) He also carefully guarded his associations. (Psalm 119:63) The result? In spite of the sad example set by his hypocritical father, Hezekiah himself “kept sticking to Jehovah.” (2 Kings 18:6) So can you! Maybe your parent is behaving hypocritically, but there is no need for you to follow suit. Keep sticking to Jehovah, and perhaps your quiet example of faithfulness will one day move your parent to change.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 25]

You do not have to fall short because your parent does

Clergy Attempt to Reach Youths

“McGill University chaplaincy . . . was invaded by a pack of greasy-​haired, leather-​jacketed punks,” The Gazette of Montreal, Canada, reported. The “punks,” though, were not of the usual sort. They were members of the clergy​—university chaplains—​and were part of what the paper called “a new wave of theologians working directly with university students seeking spiritual enlightenment.”

The chaplains had dressed up as “punks” for a poster designed to advertise their services on the campus. One of them, a Presbyterian minister named Roberta Clare, explained: “We decided to do a punk poster because we want to get away from that holier-​than-​thou, judgmental image people often have of us.”

She noted, though, that far more students than in the past are interested in studying religion in school. Many are struggling with profound questions and look to university teachers and chaplains for answers. The paper interviewed one student who was curious about why religion exerts such a powerful influence in the community, why so many religions exist, and why these seem to cause so much strife in the world. He was grappling with the real identity of Jesus Christ as well as with the question of the origin of the universe.

Do these chaplains use the Bible to help the students find God’s answers to such profound questions? Rarely, it seems. These New Wave theologians agreed among themselves not to proselytize, which they view as “sheep-​stealing.”

Well-​intentioned though they may be, such clerics have strayed far afield from the teaching methods that Christ and his followers used. Early Christians did not worry about “sheep-​stealing,” nor did they hold back from teaching the Word of God and helping sincere truth-​seekers to understand it. (Luke 24:44, 45; Acts 20:20) After all, accurate knowledge of Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ, is required to attain everlasting life. (John 17:3) God’s will is that all sorts of men should “come to an accurate knowledge of truth” in order to be saved.​—1 Timothy 2:3, 4.

The work of Jehovah’s Witnesses includes conducting free home Bible studies with those who wish to have their Bible questions answered. Jehovah’s Witnesses in your community will be pleased to assist you.

Watching the World

“The Unknown Planet”

Three previously unknown species of monkeys were found in the Amazon rain forest in just two years. Worldwide, an average of three new species of birds are discovered each year. Some 1,200 species of beetles turned up in a study of 19 trees in Panama, and 80 percent of them were not known before. Notes the magazine UNESCO Sources: “Vast numbers of life forms remain unknown to us.” For instance, “an estimated 40 percent of South America’s fresh water fish remain to be classified. . . . And what will we find in the largely unexplored ocean depths?” The problem intensifies when you consider the vast numbers of smaller life forms: the bacteria, fungi, nematodes, arachnids, insects, and plants that have yet to be discovered. Just “one gram of tropical soil, for example, can contain up to 90 million bacteria and microbes.” Some estimate that the number of species on earth may be “as high as 200 million,” says UNESCO Sources. Despite extensive exploration, earth still remains “the unknown planet.”

Canada’s Rapid Change of Values

“In less than a generation, Canadians​—both English and French—​have rejected the authority of the church, the state and the monopolies and oligopolies that used to provide comfort and order in the marketplace and in society,” reports The Toronto Star. Why? They want immediate material gratification. There is an attempt to “have it all” now. “The Judeo-​Christian moral code has been replaced by secular humanism, Catholic orthodoxy by material hedonism. Few are willing to defer gratification to the next life, let alone one’s old age,” adds the Star. God is no longer viewed as a supernatural being. Thus, there is no fear, no guilt. Spiritual interests suffer as all efforts are directed toward maximizing the rewards of the material world.

20th-​Century Foresight

Could anyone living in the last century have imagined such modern-​day developments as automobiles, mass transportation, electronic music, and fax machines? In 1863, French novelist Jules Verne, well-​known for such works as Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, predicted those developments and more in a previously unpublished novel entitled Paris in the 20th Century. Although Verne’s publisher rejected it as being too farfetched and unbelievable, the recently discovered work paints an amazingly accurate picture of life in our 20th century, including advanced weaponry, the electric chair, pollution, and traffic jams. Verne foresaw a harried population that had lost interest in past classical achievements and culture, a society enslaved by commercialism and addicted to technology. The Paris International Herald Tribune noted: “Not only did Verne predict many feats of modern technology, but he also discerned some of the most frightening consequences.”

Japan’s Crime Surge

Japan, until recently considered relatively crime free, is experiencing a surge in crime that police blame on the recession, increased gun smuggling, and the dwindling power of organized crime. According to police official Takaji Kunimatsu, gun-​related crimes have reached record levels and, if unchecked, will “shake the foundation of public order” in Japan. According to the Mainichi Daily News, crimes committed by “ordinary people” are also on the rise, caused in part by “the unrelieved stress from congested urban living.” To help city dwellers survive, sociology professor Susumu Oda made the following suggestions: Maintain minimal courtesies, such as acknowledging greetings, saying “excuse me” when appropriate, and smiling “to diffuse any perceptions of enmity.” Learn the art of polite refusal. Make a habit of using the security chains on doors. Regard the police as allies. And “do not regard martial arts training as being a means of protecting yourself from crime​—it is more likely to get someone badly injured.”

Blood Transfusion Risks

“Canada’s blood supply could be scrutinized a millennium from now and blood transfusion risks would still exist,” reported The Toronto Star. Testifying before a commission investigating the safety of Canada’s blood supply, Dr. William Noble of St. Michael’s Hospital said: “They (the risks) exist and they will always exist.” The blood transfusion risks include “everything from allergic reaction to contracting AIDS from donated blood,” says the Star. Experts in administering blood transfusions claim that more and more patients today are worried about contracting AIDS from blood. Says Dr. Noble: “There never is a day that goes by that we don’t have a conversation concerning ‘Should I give a transfusion or should I not?’”

Bear Parts

“Illegal trafficking in black bear parts from Canada can be more lucrative than participating in the international drug trade,” claims The Toronto Star. There is an unusual demand for the gallbladder and paws of the black bear by practitioners of traditional medicine in the wealthier countries of Asia, such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. “A California enforcement official has estimated the ‘street value’ (the cost to the end user) of a kilogram of bear bladder in Asia escalated to more than $1 million (U.S.) by the time the bile was ‘stepped on’ (diluted) with bile from cows or pigs,” adds the Star. “By comparison, the street value of cocaine in Metro Toronto has been estimated at $100,000 per kilogram.” Endangered species specialist Carole Saint-​Laurent, of the World Wildlife Fund/​Canada, says: “It is an enormously big business.” There is fear that the demand for bear parts will continue to escalate. The bear population has already been largely wiped out in Asia.

Brazil’s Endangered Species

“Brazil has three times more tropical forests than any other country, is the world’s leader in biological diversity, and still has the most varied fauna of mammals, 460 species, in its territory,” says the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo. “But Brazil is also the leader of endangered species, 310, of which 58 are mammals.” Although no mammal so far has become extinct, “12 percent of the Brazilian mammals are in danger,” such as “the lion tamarin, which exists only in Brazil.” Some endangered species “live in such restricted areas that any interference in their habitat can lead to their extinction.” According to the newspaper, a species is considered extinct if 50 years pass without any specimen being found in the wild.

People on the Planet

According to statistics by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), the number of people on the planet reached 5.66 billion in mid-1994. Projections estimate that figure to increase to 6 billion by 1998, 8.5 billion by the year 2025, and 10 billion by 2050, with nearly all the growth occurring in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Africa, with an annual population growth rate of 2.9 percent, is the fastest growing region in the world. Europe is lowest​—0.3 percent. UNFPA also states that by the turn of the century, just five years from now, half of the world’s people will live in urban areas. By then, 300 cities in developing countries will contain over one million people, compared with 125 cities today.

Quality Relationships the Key

“It’s the kind of relationship adolescents have​—and not the type of family—​that predicts whether adolescents will use drugs or have behavior problems,” states The Toronto Star. A study by the Addiction Research Foundation of 2,057 youths in Ontario revealed that “the nature of family relationships has a stronger influence than the structure of the family itself,” said scientist Ed Adlaf. Adolescents in good family relationships, even though with adoptive or stepparents or single mothers, fared better than those in intact families where poor relationships existed. “Those who regularly talk about their problems with parents had the lowest rates of delinquency,” said the Star. “Those who never talk with either parent about problems had the highest rates of heavy drinking, drug use and delinquency.” How much time adolescents spend with their families, the quality of the relationships, and whether or not parents keep track of their children’s whereabouts and activities are primary factors in reducing problems. Said Adlaf: “It is important to spend time and make some time with children.”

From Our Readers

Supportive Parents A very special thank you for the series “Parents​—Be Supportive!” (August 8, 1994) Recently, the principal of my youngest daughter’s school discussed the matter of good parent-​teacher communication with a group of parents. I took the magazine to the principal, and she read it immediately. Two weeks later my daughter brought me the monthly school newsletter. The portion of the article on good communication had been reprinted so that the whole community could benefit from the information.

W. B., United States

Wholphins I enjoyed the article “A Whale? A Dolphin?​—No, It’s a Wholphin!” (February 22, 1994), about the dolphin/​whale hybrid. At the end you call this a “glimpse into the astonishing potential for variety that God has built into his creation.” I took exception to this because the mating would not have occurred in their normal environment.

K. G., United States

We did not mean that such a mating was normal or that God was responsible for it. Nevertheless, man cannot be given the credit for the existence of such a fascinating creature. Hybrids exist only because of the “potential for variety that God has built into his creation.” Our article thus gave God due credit.​—ED.

Thrill Sports In the article “Young People Ask . . . Thrill Sports​—Should I Take a Chance?,” you did well in warning youngsters of the possible dangers of bungee jumping. (July 8, 1994) Less than a week after I read it, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported that four youths suffered severe eye damage because of bungee jumping. Thank you for your wonderful magazine.

D. F., England

The article on death-​defying sports left me feeling wide awake! I once climbed a steep rock cliff and found myself unable to go backward or forward. To this day I shudder at how close I came to dying. What a stupid waste it would have been!

L. T., United States

I appreciated the article very much. Where I live, the kids participate in many of these thrill sports. They are always trying to get me to join them. In the news, though, I often see reports of people dying or getting seriously hurt from the same supposedly fun sports that they tell me about. After reading the article, I realized that it would be unwise for me to endanger my life, which Jehovah God gave me, for just a short-​lived thrill.

J. S., United States

AIDS For over three years I served as a full-​time evangelizer. Now, however, I cannot. I have AIDS. Thank you for openly dealing with this difficult subject in the article “Helping Those With AIDS.” (March 22, 1994) I can see that you have everyone’s interests at heart. It seems, though, that many have missed the parts of the article that encouraged sympathy for the afflicted and have focused on the mentioned “reasonable precautions.” It’s as if the article gave some a license to be standoffish. I can’t help but wonder what will happen when I’m much worse and really need the love and support of my brothers. Will some refuse to visit me because they’re afraid of contracting the virus?

M. N., United States

We appreciate these candid comments. It was not our intent to discourage the giving of support to AIDS victims. Indeed, we stated: “Based on the current consensus, casual contact does not transmit AIDS. . . . One need not be unduly fearful of being around people with AIDS.” The suggested precautions can help others to feel a measure of protection as they deal compassionately with AIDS victims.​—ED.

Nature’s Tears

IT IS early morning, and the air is cool and still. Every leaf and blade of grass shimmers with droplets, glittering in the first light of day. In a way, it seems as if the greenery has shed tears of joy in greeting the sunrise. Little wonder that dew has inspired poets​—and photographers.

However, dew does more than refresh the human spirit. This atmospheric phenomenon, common all over the planet except in the polar regions, is a blanket of life-​sustaining moisture. Jehovah God has so designed the atmosphere that when it cools during the night under certain conditions, it reaches what is known as the dew point. This is the temperature at which the air can no longer hold on to its moisture and deposits it onto surfaces that are cooler than the surrounding air. Through their leaves, thirsty plants have been known to absorb as much as their own weight in dewdrop water, much of which they expel through their roots for storage in the soil.

In Bible lands, where there is a long dry season, dew may at times be virtually the only source of water for plants. Thus in the Bible, dew is often associated with the yield of crops​—and the lack of dew, with famine.

Dew can also have a more personal meaning. In his farewell song to God’s people, Moses wrote: “My instruction will drip as the rain, my saying will trickle as the dew, as gentle rains upon grass and as copious showers upon vegetation.” (Deuteronomy 32:2) Moses spoke words that were life-​giving like dew. Since he was the meekest of men, it is certain that he was habitually gentle and considerate in his speech as well. (Numbers 12:3) Like dew or gentle rain, his words nourished without causing damage.

The next time you wonder at the gentle beauty of the morning dew​—nature’s own tears—​you may want to ponder the awesome wisdom of dew’s Creator.

Do Not Miss the “Joyful Praisers” District Convention

Three rewarding days of Bible instruction await you. Be present when the program begins with music at 9:40 Friday morning. Enjoy the opening talk, “Welcome, You Joyful Praisers of Jehovah!,” as well as the keynote address, “Set Apart as Joyful Praisers Worldwide.”

Friday afternoon’s program will focus on youths, their parents, and education. “Am I Prepared to Get Married?” is a talk many will want to hear. Parents should listen carefully to the discussion “Parents Who Find Pleasure in Their Children.” The afternoon program will conclude with the discourse “Education​—Use It to Praise Jehovah.” What is provided should help youths to get along successfully in school.

The Saturday morning symposium, “Answering the Call to Praise Jehovah,” should be encouraging to many. The morning session will conclude with the baptism talk. In the afternoon, there will be a frank discussion of how Satan from early times has used sexual desire to ensnare people. The day’s program will conclude with the presentation of information that should equip God’s people to carry out their ministry more effectively.

Sunday morning’s session will feature stimulating information focusing attention on the urgent need to flee to safety without delay before the “great tribulation.” (Matthew 24:21) The session will conclude with the important drama “Honoring Worthy Ones in Their Older Years.” In the afternoon, the public talk “Praise the King of Eternity!” will be another highlight of the convention.

Since 180 conventions are scheduled in the United States alone, there will be a convention not far from your home. Check with Jehovah’s Witnesses locally for the time and place of the one nearest you.