AN EDUCATIONAL FILM
BY THE GERMAN HYGIENE MUSEUM
IN THE GDR
PRODUCTION: FILMKOLLEKTIV DRESDEN-1978
PLEASURE
RISK
PLEASURE AND RISK
c.100 million cigarettes
are produced and supplied daily in the GDR.
Loads of pleasure for smokers,
but also a great risk for their health.
This affects men and women equally.
A few years ago, a lot more men
used to smoke than women.
Meanwhile, women have caught up,
at least, as far as cigarettes are concerned.
And consumption continues to rise alarmingly.
CIGARETTE CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA
In 1967, cigarette consumption per capita
was 1,150.
In 1974, it was already 1,413.
In 1976, it reached 1,468.
It is only his eighteenth today,
which amounts to 7,500 a year.
Think about it. 7,500 cigarettes.
A moderate smoker.
Of course, he wants to keep it at 20 or just a few more, a day.
But he needs them to feel good,
he says.
He knows that smoking doesn't really benefit health.
On the other hand, he knows people, even doctors,
who have grown as old as the hills while smoking.
Why should he give up on that pleasure?
Such is his opinion.
Let's listen to the doctor:
Prof. Renger, MD.
Each smoker will answer using such arguments
or similar ones.
He tries hard
to justify his bad habit or to excuse it.
But here's the key question:
Where does pleasure end?
And where do habit, dependence and addiction start?
Reaching for a cigarette has become a reflex.
It springs from the need to create a smoking atmosphere
or from nicotine dependence.
Is it really a pleasure?
It seems doubtful to me.
An irrefutable fact remains:
the health risk.
CIGARETTE USE AND HEART ATTACK
Do smokers know about their risk?
In smokers, the risk of having a heart attack or of dying,
is 2 to 3 times greater than in non-smokers.
It rises with the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
The younger one starts to smoke,
the greater the risk.
CIGARETTE USE AND LUNG CANCER
That smoking is responsible for specific organ cancer
is known the world over.
In heavy smokers, the risk of developing cancer
is 25-30 % greater than in non-smokers.
It is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked.
Such figures make you think.
This isn't the first time
he's heard or read such data.
Good resolutions have often sprung from it.
But he forgot them after a few days.
He thinks he can trust his good constitution.
He feels healthy and fit.
Why should it affect him, of all people?
And finally,
smoking is his risk.
We cannot tolerate this notion of a purely personal risk.
Risk and health damage
are shared with family members.
Our society
provides enormous amounts of money for public health,
for prophylaxis and the fight against diseases,
including those than can result from smoking,
such as lung cancer and vascular disease.
They can lead to a heart attack
or cause the amputation of a leg.
Nowadays, there is plenty of scientific knowledge available
to prevent diseases.
It is our duty to implement it
in our way of life and behaviour.
Subtitles: Élisabeth Fuchs & Nicolas Guechi