>Cigarettes kill almost 500,000 people a year in the US alone. I really feel like such statistics, for other topics as well, are unnecessarily sensationalist.

>Cigarettes kill almost 500,000 people a year in the US alone. I really feel like such statistics, for other topics as well, are unnecessarily sensationalist. Yes, people are dying from smoking related diseases, but they're not dropping dead from smoking. They smoke (and derive pleasure from doing so) for decades and increase their chances of lung disease. The truth doesn't sound quite as urgent, IMO. But I do agree with your general sentiment.