Initially tobacco was sold to people in the “1950’s” as a sign of empowerment, rebellion and independence (the last point being especially relevant for women). There was no understanding of what tobacco could do to your lungs or its insidious and deadly side effects(www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Fact vs. fake – why donโ€™t we trust science any more?) .

Later on, however, the harmful consequences of this substance were corroborated by science and from the early “1990’s” the tobacco companies hid their awareness of their products pervasiveness to capitalise on them as much as possible. Many people died from being a heavy smoker. This includes the actor Yul Brynner who did a commercial to raise awareness about the danger of cigarettes (www.youtube.com, n.d.Yul Brynner post mortem Cancer TV commercial anti-smoking).

It was careless of the tobacco companies to behave as greedy as they did  but the flip side of this story is that it also reveals that without scientific research, improvement cannot be made. 

Hence the importance of not trusting the status quo. Being comfortable in not knowing the causes and effects of a product, for instance tobacco but also  alcohol or sugary and junk food cannot be acceptable. And science concluded that there was a correlation between the consumption of those substances and the development of cancers which can lead to early death. The point is that, there is a need to contribute in increasing the ” numbers of people with […] disabilities [..] involved in research” (Contributor, 2016). 

Because research “findings can inform and improve evidence-based” practices in many sectors from education, nursing, prison services, pharmaceutical, tourism to sport or languages for example(Contributor, 2016).  

We need more inclusion!

Thanks for reading,

Frederique ๐Ÿ‘

 

Reference

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Fact vs. fake – why donโ€™t we trust science any more? | DW Documentary. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frCIYEyURV0&list=TLPQMzAxMDIwMjEvKd3lUUscIw&index=1 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2021].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Yul Brynner post mortem Cancer TV commercial anti-smoking (Westworld or The King and I). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikQoFpNBNg [Accessed 30 Oct. 2021].

Contributor, N.T. (2016). Research with and by people with learning disabilities. [online] Nursing Times. Available at: https://www.nursingtimes.net/roles/learning-disability-nurses/research-with-and-by-people-with-learning-disabilities-08-02-2016/.